On Tap Archives - 2008
Ep #50 - 1-17-2008 - After nearly two years of their podcast debut, On Tap finally reaches its monumental 50th episode! Keeping up with their tradition, Dale & Chris present both of their own top 10 games of the year! Also, Dale reviews Call of Duty 4 on Xbox 360 and Battle for the Pacific on Xbox 360, and Chris reviews Assassin's Creed on Xbox 360. (53 min)
Ep #51 - 1-31-2008 - What's that? Some more videogame-themed movies came out and Jarrod wants to return to talk about them? We have a double feature of videogame cinematography for you as Dale, Chris, and Jarrod carefully examine and bash Uwe Boll's latest disaster-piece, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. After experience that drek, the guys talk about possibly one of the best movies centered around videogames evarrrr, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. (68 min)
Ep #52 - 2-15-2008 - It's been a while, but the classic trio of Dale, Chris, & Scott reunite to hate on EA, and show some love towards the PS3. Dale also reviews the action themed, hack'n slash Conan on Xbox 360, and Dale & Chris finish things off by talking about their time rocking out at a Guitar Hero tournament at a local bar. (38 min)
Ep #53 - 3-6-2008 - Intercept my Culdcept! Dale reviews Culdcept Saga for Xbox 360. Chris talks about his 18 hour Call of Duty 4 marathon. Steve Alarid makes his overdue return to the podcast to join in on discussion of the wonders of saving money with GameFly, remembering shoot-em-up (shmup) games like Galaga & Ikaruga. Dale also visits his backlog with a look back at Metroid Fusion on GBA. (50 min)
Ep #54 - 3-14-2008 - Since the Stanley Cup playoffs started, that means it's time for a hockey videogame retrospective! Dale & Chris are joined by hockey gurus, Scott & Steve Alarid. This episode is all about the greatest sport on ice, and we're not talking about curling. The On Tap crew reminisc about slapshots going back to the days of Atari & NES Ice Hockey all the way to the latest and greatest from EA & 2K. (50 min)
Ep #55 - 3-21-2008 - Dale, Chris, & Scott have always been huge Rock Band fans since it came several months prior, and have endured many countless nights plugging away at their Band World Tour. However, they never managed to get around to reviewing, so this episode is all about their belated roundtable review for the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band. Also make sure to keep the player on towards end for quite possibly the best easter egg of all time! (35 min)
Ep #56 - 4-11-2008 - It's that time of the year again, actually it's a few months earlier than last year, but the Midwest Gaming Classic is back! Dale, Joey, & Chris journey out to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin to check out the Midwest Gaming Classic. This podcast is a live recording on the road during their trek home, capturing their raw emotions and thoughts of the show mere hours after leaving the convention! (60 min)
Ep #57 - 4-19-2008 - We have a couple more 360 reviews on this episode of On Tap. Dale & Chris both dive into EA's Army of Two. Dale then feeds his Lost obsession with the video game version of the hit show, Lost: Via Domus. Chris also visits his backlog, and talks about Ridge Racer 6 on the Xbox 360. Dale also theorizes why all MMOs should be rated M. (59 min)
Ep #58 - 5-3-2008 - This is mostly a reader reax show. Dale, Chris, & Scott listen to the masses. On our official forums for the show (found at vgevo.com) we have a questions/ideas thread where listeners can pose questions and ideas of topics they want discussed on they. This episode responds to questions like our favorite controllers, 16-bit memories, our best and worst gaming deals, among other reader feedback. (41 min)
Ep #59 - 5-17-2008 - Dale & Chris are onboard and give an update on their GTA IV progress! Dale also reviews the original Phoenix Wright for DS, and also revisits his backlog by talking about one of his all time favorites, Final Fantasy VI for the GBA. The duo also preview their most anticipated games for the remainder of 2008. (60 min)
Ep #60 - 6-8-2008 - On Tap is in the middle of a new server and site transition at the moment of this recording, yet Dale, Chris, & Scott still manage to deliver some more audio goodness to your audio device of choice. This show contains reviews for Super Dodge Ball Brawlers (DS) from Dale and Age of Conan (PC) from Chris. There is also a pair of retro reviews, as Dale digs Mario Tennis (GBA) up from his backlog grave, and Scott drives by with GTA: San Andreas (Xbox). (47 min)
Ep #61 - 6-14-2008 - Dale & Chris present a very special episode of On Tap, as for one episode only we are the "official" podcast of CD-i Fanboy! Chris was one of the few proud owners of the CD-i, and we spent the entire day replaying through his massive library of CD-i titles, and researching the system to deliver an in-depth retrospective of it. A must listen for any die hard fan of Zelda: Wand of Gandelon. (47 min)
Ep #62 - 6-21-2008 - Since Dale & Chris had a blast looking back at the little system that couldn't, the CD-i, they decided to revisit another system that failed at mainstream success, the SegaCD, and deliver a retrospective for the Genesis add-on. (59 min)
Ep #63 - 6-29-2008 - The summer of console flashbacks continues when Dale & Chris reflect on another Sega disc-based platform, the Saturn. They remember the ill-fated surprise launch, the the wealthy amount of RPGs and Sega Arcade ports, the many accessories and more. They also officially announce the new website for the show. (53 min)
Ep #64 - 7-5-2008 - The summer console flashbacks continue this episode when Dale, Chris and Scott analyze the best damn disc based platform released in 1993, the 3DO. The crew gives the history of the first 32-bit platform, talk about 15 random games they played before the show including hits like Gex, Road Rash, and Twisted, and read thoughts on the 3DO from the VGevo community. (61 min)
Ep #65 - 7-9-2008 - The crew is back with another show for a sixth straight week. Join Dale, Chris and Scott for this spoil-tastic episode as they give much belated reviews for Resistance (PS3) and Grand Theft Auto IV (360). We also discuss our disappointment with Haze (PS3), Scott brings up fond memories of a classic Atlus strategy game Burgandine (PSone), and Chris visits his backlog with Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter (PS2). (69 min)
Ep #66 - 7-13-2008 - Not a whole lot to this episode, Dale and Chris preview E3, and Chris finally gets around to talking about Mario Kart Wii. (48 min)
Ep #67 - 7-26-2008 - The most cluster-fucked episode of On Tap yet. Scott & Chris got a mad energy drink sugar rush. Dale tried to bring peace, but eventually gave up at Chris and Scott's many attempts at derailing the show as the trio gives the worst E3 round-up in all of podcasting, a mini-retrospective on the Virtual Boy, and Dale reviews The Bourne Conspiracy. (45 min)
Ep #68 - 8-3-2008 - This episode is somewhat more laid back in comparison to the last show as Chris reviews Lost Odyssey, Dale recalls starting Marvel Ultimate Alliance on five separate occasions, and the duo remembers the games that gave them the worst initial impressions of all time. (49 min)
Ep #69 - 8-10-2008 - Remember how great the arcades were? Dale shares his experience of two recent visits to separate arcades: one being a traditional arcade with a lot of hits from the late 90s, the other quite possibly being one of the worst maintained arcades in the Midwest. Also in this episode, Dale, Chris and Scott amp up their instruments for their 2nd annual hype/previews for the yearly installments of Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour. (50 min)
Ep #70 - 8-24-2008 - Dale & Chris finished up three games between them so they have conclusive thoughts on Eternal Sonata (360), Superman Returns (360) and Heavenly Sword (PS3). Also featured is Scott's love of the force with his anticipation of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed after playing the recently released demo. (40 min)
Ep #71 - 8-31-2008 - For the first time in five months Dale brings on some special guests to the show. insidepulse.com's film & DVD reviewer, Scott Sawitz, and the ever credible videogame movie review critic, Jarrod Johnston of the Pause or Continue podcast come on to talk about the latest and greatest Uwe Boll disasterpiece, Postal! That's right, Mr. Boll somehow managed to craft another videogame movie, and like we did with BloodRayne & Dungeon Siege, we couldn't resist the urge to tear this apart. We actually spend the first half of the show dissecting some of the other blockbuster films of the summer before torturing ourselves with Boll's latest offering. (64 min)
Ep #72 - 9-11-2008 - This is a very special and long coming edition of On Tap, as it marks part one of a multi-part RPG flashback special where we reminisce about our favorite and worst memories of RPGs on the NES, Master System & TurboGrafx platforms in America. Dale is joined by Mark Singer of the PS Nation podcast to talk old school RPGs. Tune in for why Dragon Warrior was the s**t in the 80s, Mark's love for Ys on Turbo CD and go back to a time where graphing out your own dungeons was perfectly acceptable and recommended for average RPG gameplay. (54 min)
Ep #73 - 9-21-2008 - This marks the second installment of our RPG history retrospective. Dale is joined by Chris and two special guest hosts, Glenn Percovil of the PSnation podcast, and Scott from the Gamers Only Older podcast. This episode features Glenn & Scott filling us in about some classic PC RPGs, and all four guys trying to maintain order remembering their favorite RPGs on 16-bit platforms such as the Super Nintendo, Genesis & Sega CD. (78 min)
Ep #74 - 9-27-2008 - The much anticipated third installment of the RPG retrospective is here. Dale and Chris are back, and so is Mark Singer of the PS Nation podcast. The trio does a little clean up on titles they missed out on the last installment, with Mark telling all why Phantasy Star II-IV on Genesis were some of his all time favorites. However, that is not the highlight of this installment as the guys touch on and remember nearly every single good, bad and ugly American released RPG that made an appearance on the N64, Saturn and Dreamcast. (88 min)
Ep #75 - 9-28-2008 - The RPG retrospective continues with part four. This installment we attempt to cover every single American released RPG for the original Playstation. With such a large library of RPGs, this episode marks the longest of On Tap, spanning over two hours of RPG reminiscing. (124 min)
Ep #76 - 10-11-2008 - Guess what? Nope, you're wrong, it's actually part five of the RPG retrospective!!!! In this installment Dale, Chris & Scott focus on multiplatform RPGs that hit any combo of the PS2/Xbox/GameCube with games like Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance I & II, X-Men Legends I & II, Future Tactics and more. We also focus on RPGs that were exclusive to the GameCube & Xbox (the dozens of PS2 exclusives will get their own special next episode). Regrettably, the trio admits none of them were pros on Cube RPGs, and they fail to give any in-depth thoughts of their own personal experiences with them, but they do spend a lot of time over multiplatform RPGs, and Xbox exclusives such as Morrowind, Fable & KOTOR!!! The show also announces its second ever contest! (116 min)
Ep #77 - 10-19-2008 - The gang takes a one episode break from the RPGs so they can continue their traditional coverage reviewing the latest video game movie, with the newest being Max Payne. Special guest, Scott Sawitz of insidepulse.com makes it on to join Dale and Chris as they talk about Rockstar's gritty hero and how well his move to the silver screen went. (38 min)
Ep #78 - 10-26-2008 - It's been a long time since Dale, Chris and Scott went all out and dedicated an episode to reviews, that was what they did in this episode, the "review-a-palooza." This show contains five 360 reviews, all of which are big time holiday releases. The crew starts things off with Scott using the force on Star Wars the Force Unleashed. Dale then dishes one suplex of a review in TNA Impact. The gang then all chime in a sequel they were all anticipating in Rock Band 2. Dale and Scott reveal their gang colors in Saints Row 2 and finally Chris finishes things off with his review of Fable II! (68 min)
Ep #79 - 11-6-2008 - The RPG retrospective is back after taking a few episodes off. This time for part six of the special, Dale brings back Steve McFadden to talk about handheld RPGs going all the way back to the Lynx, GameBoy and Game Gear all the way up through to the GameBoy Advance. Dick and Dave also make a cameo appearence to talk about all the wonderful Pokemon games that have graced Nintendo's handhelds. (98 min)
Ep #80 - 11-8-2008 - If you thought the PSone installment was a juggernaut, just wait until your ears get a chance to absorb the PS2 installment, which clocks in as our longest episode ever at three hours of sword slashing/teen angst rebel goodness! Special guest Shino of the Interactive Distractions podcast joins Dale and Chris to analyze the boatload of RPGs that have graced the PS2 in North America. We reminisce over past hits such as Dark Cloud, Rogue Galaxy, Odin Sphere, Final Fantasy X and countless others, and we also made sure to at least a get a mention in of ones we weren't overly familiar with. (180 min)
Ep #81 - 11-28-2008 - Episode 81 of On Tap marks part 8 of the special 9 part RPG retrospective. This installment focuses on all the RPGs released on DS and PSP. Chris and Dale hit the think tank hardcore for this episode as they're surprised at the astounding amount of RPGs that are on the handhelds, and all of a sudden the roughly 20 or so games the duo were familiar with seems like a heck of a lot less than they were ready for. This episode also features some more of our annual discussion of our Black Friday shopping experience, and some clean up on last episode's PS2 RPG special, with the forum community at VGevo help patching some gaps from that episode. (104 min)
Ep #82 - 12-7-2008 - After nearly three months, the RPG retrospective is finally over with part 9 covering RPGs on the Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. Dale and Chris also cap off the retrospective running down their top three RPGs of all time, along with top three lists from the VGevo community too. (117 min)
Ep #83 - 12-21-2008 - An unfortunate technical glitch caused the On Tap crew to lose on of their previously recorded episodes, but Dale made up for it by coming back and reviewing a few games he's been meaning to talk about. This episode features reviews for WWE Smackdown vs. RAW 2009, History Channel Civil War: Secret Missions and Call of Duty: World at War. (52 min)
Ep #84 - 12-28-2008 - Probably a month too late, but On Tap finally brings two reviews of the holiday season's biggest games. We're talking about the year's two biggest first party exclusives, Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2. Dale, Chris and Liz are on board to give two in-depth reviews, with both games receiving nearly a half hour in coverage each (83 min).