Episode 6 of the CPC and bit-tech podcast

Episode 6 of the CPC and bit-tech podcast

We're keeping on track with our alternating games/hardware podcast strategy. Unlike Intel's tick-tock approach, we're not going to muck things up by releasing a cheap, low-power podcast in-between ticks and tocks. But that's a hardware joke (and surprisingly geeky, even by this writer's standards) so on with the games!

This episode sees Joe oddly fascinated by the attire of his fellow podcasters as he regales Alex, Harry and Mark with stories of his time at GamesCom 2009 in Cologne. I think it's fair to say that Joe didn't wholly enjoy his time on Cologne, which he found 'dirty' and full of 'wonky-toothed people sitting on streets drinking vodka'. At least the show itself was a blast - with 200,000 members of the paying public checking out all there was to see.

The guys also chat about Shadow Complex, the Xbox Live hit game from Chair Entertainemnt (a subsidiary of Epic Games) which is based on the novels of Orson Scott Card. As some find Card's social and political views distasteful, the guys discuss whether you're validating or supporting those views by buying a game (or, indeed, book) associated with him, even though that product may not contain any of those objectionable points of view? Let us know your thoughts on this weighty subject in the forums.

On a lighter note, Joe also talks about a feature he's currently writing entitled 'Are PC Games Dying Out?' Talking about things dying might not sound much lighter than the morality of supporting someone's questionable views by purchasing his or her less questionable wares, but then again, we didn't say how much lighter this discussion was going to be. Joe invites you all to voice your thoughts about this question in the comments thread.

Joe is also dismayed at the news that Beyond Good and Evil 2 might have been cancelled. If you thought the news story read like a man that probably shouldn't be working on the fifth floor of an office block for next week or two, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Also talked about in this epic podcast is the ever-present topic of MMO addiction, raised by the announcement last week of World of Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion. It is weird to want to spend every evening raiding dungeons, or should you go down the pub instead? And what's the difference between an online guild, and a pub football team? The answers are blowing around the interweb-ether, but you can catch them via any of the methods outlined below:


Listen carefully and you can also win a copy of Zeno Clash by guessing the game that we're describing a screenshot of. Or something like that. You'll get the idea when you get to that bit of the pod. Enjoy!

Listen now

Episodes are provided as MP3s, and you can download the files themselves, or subscribe to the podcast - either in iTunes, or in any other podcast program, feedreader or browser which supports RSS.

• Subscribe in iTunes
  
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• Download as an MP3

Alternatively, if you prefer or have missed out on the old style of podcast then you can catch up with the old-fashioned CPC and bit-tech episodes using the links below.

• Series 3, Episode 1 - GeForce GTX 275 and Radeon HD 4890, as well as the Radeon HD 4770.
  
• Series 3, Episode 1 Extra - The energy-drink-roundup and reality of caffeine addiction.
  
• Series 3, Episode 2 - Intel is fined £948 million, plus Duke Nukem Forever becomes Duke Nukem Never.
  
• Series 3, Episode 3 – Chrome OS, Monkey Island, Intel Branding and Joe’s Mum.
  
• Series 3, Episode 4 - A gaming podcast, featuring 50 Cent in Modern Warfare 2 and Raging on the PS3.
  
• Series 3, Episode 5 - A hardware podcast talking about the single-PCB GeForce GTX 295, Phenom II X4 965 Black Edtion CPU, P55 motherboards and the Lucid Hydra chip.
  

We'd like to thank Shure for supplying microphones for us to use to record these podcasts. The podcast also features music from Brad Sucks. Let us know your thoughts on the podcast in the forums.