G’Ovah!!
Javi. Dylan.
Dont forget to write in a question for next week!
gameoverpodcast@yahoo.com

This new tale begins with Professor Layton receiving a letter from his friend and mentor, Dr. Schrader. The letter tells of how the doctor has acquired a mysterious item known as the Elysian Box, which is said to kill any who open it. Layton feels uneasy and goes to visit his friend but discovers him dead and the box missing. With a blank train ticket on the Molentary Express as the only clue, Layton and and his apprentice, Luke, set out to solve the mystery. The story does not confine the player to a solitary town this time. Players will be able to explore the Molentary Express as well as the towns beyond which helps keep things fresh and gives the sense that progress is being made. The mystery itself is quite good and even though I was able to guess many of the revelations, the central question was tricky enough to elude me. The answers are also doled out at a more even pace than the Curious Village, which had all the solutions piled on at the very end. The story is well worth experiencing and helps guide you from puzzle to puzzle.

Gameplay hasn’t changed much from the previous game. It’s still a puzzle adventure where you explore your surroundings and talk to various people. Each will give you a classic brain teaser to solve with the difficulty measured in Picarats. The more Picarats you can earn, the more difficult the puzzle will be. Picarats are also worth earning because the total collected at the end of the game determine what bonuses you unlock. Hint coins are also hidden around the locales and can be spent to unlock up to three hints on a single puzzle. The puzzles themselves can range from simple and easy to mindbogglingly frustrating. Despite that, a little patience and alternative thinking is all it takes to get through most puzzles. Perhaps the greatest improvement to the game is how puzzles have been implemented into the game. Rather than having most puzzles thrown at you have little to do with what’s going on in the story, Diabolical Box’s puzzles usually have something to do with what you’re experiencing. There’s a greater sense of satisfaction when the puzzle you solve feels like it actually had an impact on what is going on.

There’s more to do beyond the standard puzzles though. As the game progresses, you stumble upon a broken camera, an overweight hamster, and a tea set. Solving certain puzzles gives you items to use in the completion of these sidequests. The broken camera acts as a variation on a jigsaw puzzle. Exercising the fat hamster is all about using items to maximize how far he can walk. The tea set focuses on trying every combination of ingredients and serving the correct flavor of tea to the right person. None are that difficult to do but each provide tangible benefits to finishing them. The only real problem is that even with these extras, there’s not much replay value to the game. There’s especially difficult puzzles you can unlock and you can retry puzzles at any time, but once you solve a puzzle, the challenge is gone. That’s not to say you won’t get a lengthy main game with a healthy 12-15 hour experience.

Much like the gameplay, the graphics of the Diabolical Box hasn’t changed much. It still has the French influenced character designs that give the game its unique flair. The style lends itself well to immediately recognizable and memorable characters. The location design is also top-notch, starting out normal and getting more abstract as the game goes on. The use of animated cutscenes has also been expanded and are great fun to watch, often setting the mood for the next section of gameplay. The voice acting, which has also been increased, is excellent and serves the alternate Britain setting well. The music, while using many songs from the first game, is fantastic with some of the best tunes in the second half. It’s difficult to really expect anything more of the sequel when the original established such great presentation already.

If you enjoyed the first Professor Layton adventure, there’s no reason you won’t enjoy the Diabolical Box. It has more puzzles, more sidequests, and a better mystery. If you’re new to Professor Layton, he’s still worth checking out. The game’s stories are independent enough that you can still understand almost everything that’s going on. Personally, I cannot wait until the third game is released on our shores.

8.3/10

Hopefully you skimmed through the end of that last paragraph to get to this part where I tell you some of what actually happens in the show:

Intros

Random News

What We’re Playing

What’s Cookin’

Reggie Time

Umm…..well I guess that is it as far as a large overview.  There’s definitely little things in between but hey, there’s fun to be had here.  Look for the bit about Zac Efron.

Song Used: Everybody Nose (Remix) ft. Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Pusha T- N.E.R.D.

G’ovah Rated is a side-project starring the cast/fans of The Game Over Podcast. The show is very much akin to what you’d find over at Spill.com except we review games instead of movies.

In this episode of G’Ovah! Rated we review Braid. This episode was relatively easy to make. From start to finish it only took me 3 days. Which was about what I was aiming for.

I hope you all enjoy this episode of G’Ovah Rated.
You can now stream the full un-cut audio below

Well, we made it into the double digits! Join us this week as we celebrate hitting our 10^th episode, with the help of our friends in the chat room!

This show was a blast to record. It was full of laughs and good spirits, as we talked about what we’ve been playing and our thoughts on this “add 10 levels with every expansion” business. Is that how it has to be and how did we get to this point?

If you get the chance, check out our Live Stream. I was struck by some strange muse and decided to skin a furby. Yep, this is what you miss when you grab the download!

From all of us though, really, thanks for making the last 10 episodes a blast. Your listenership means a lot to all of us and has made the idea of “MMO Radio” a lot more real. Here’s to another 10! *cheers*

Vagary Homepage
Subscribe to the Show
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Download/Listen Here:

Show Notes – 3/5/10 – “Linear, Shminear!”

Intro:

• What have we been playing?
• Listener mail: Maxivik and Alik Steel! Thanks Guys!

Topics:

• News: Congratulations to Beau and Syp for joining Massively.com!
• Linear Expansions: Is it better to grow up or grow out?

Shout Outs:

• Thanks to Karen from Journey’s With Jaye and a View From the Top!
• Thanks to the Drunken Legacy – Daggerspine [US] – WoW guild. You guys rock!
• A big hello to Riknas’ friend blagraghragh. We miss you buddy!

Relevant Links:

• Chris – Game by Night
• Ferrel – Epic Slant and a View From the Top
• Riknas – Riknas Rants

Music in this episode:

Special Thanks to Trevor McKee and Steve Gomboc for proving the music used for the intro and outro this week.

E-mail comments (or questions) to pefectlysaneshow@gmail.com or friend us on the IGN Blogs.

G’Ovah!!
Javi. Ramesh.
Dont forget to write in a question for next week!
gameoverpodcast@yahoo.com

Tune in for plenty of fresh news from Nintendos summit, and some spoiler free impressions of what we think of heavy rain! I hope you enjoy the new episode of the n00bketeers.

William Milby, Brittney Brombacher and Cyrus Fayazi.

Table of Contents:

1. Gaming News (04:18)
2. Fozzy Gets Robbed (07:45)
3. Our Wal-Mart Stores (21:15)
4. Britt and Mr. Jaffe (46:55)
5. Reggie “Feels On Me” (48:41)
6. Reader Mail! (50:28)
7. AFTOHSIX isn’t white! (57:22)
8. Sticking daggers up Javi’s…. (1:10:00)
9. Holy Balls! song/Recommedations (1:16:30)
10. Blog of the Week! (1:31:27)
11. Jason… Jason! Jay-son (1:39:57)

Music:

Intro Eiffel 65 – My Console

song 1 Kazakh – Strider

Song 2 Level 5 – Blaster Master

Song 3 Pure Black, or Marbles and Cream? by Red Tailed Fox and the Prophet of Mephisto (OCRemix)

Song 4 Wild West – Loser Tune

Song 5 Holy Balls by Beezball (As heard on Gamescoop 30 and 50 by Yours Truly)

Outro Wallachian Prince by Grant Kirkhope (OCRemix)

Show Notes

• Ferrel we hardly knew you and we will miss you! Please someone, find Ferrel!
• Guest Topic: Allod’s Online and RMTs. The developers aren’t out to just screw you! They could if they wanted to though!
• Why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free?

Acknowledgments

Karen and I would like to thank Brian Green once again for joining us for the show. He was a wonderful guest and we really appreciated his insight!

Show Notes

• What have Karen and Adam been playing lately? The answer won’t surprise you! One of these two hosts even plays during the show! How rude! For something less obvious, find out what Brian has been up to (it isn’t EQ2, despite my attempts)!
• Sentinel’s Fate gets a thumbs up.
• The interview with Brian “Psychochild” Green. Karen and Adam put Brian on the hot seat and try to raid him for knowledge. Listen to share in the wonderful loot that they found!
• Dealing with loot as a guild.
• Weekend Design Challenge! What guild management feature should be standard in all MMOs that is not standard?
• Crunch Time! Working or raiding 60+ hours a week? No sweat right? Find out the value (or lack there of) of crunch time for your guild or development shop.
• You make the call. When you’re fed up, burned out and ready to go, how do you leave your guild when you’re one of the most important people in it? How does the guild handle your loss? Find out here!

Acknowledgments

I really have to thank Brian for coming on the show and being a wonderful guest. We’ve worked together on a few things in the past and he has always been supportive so, once more, thank you sir for being willing to share your time and expertise.

Thank you Hi Rez for a great business model and SOE for a great EQ2 expansion!

I would also like to thank Karen for being a great sport and wonderful co-host. She does a whole lot to make this show happen and doesn’t get the thanks she deserves. Help me thank her for finding time to do View from the Top with me!

Brian would like to extend his thanks to all the fans of Meridian 59 over the years. He would also like to that Kat for being great!

Karen would like to shout out to her guildies!