L.A. Noire is a detective thriller developed by Team Bondi in Australia and published by Rockstar Games.
It was exhausting, but we have recovered ourselves a Dan to bring back the structure we crave. Admittedly our structure is a bit like a paper tower in the rain, yet still we crave its moist sanctuary.
After a brief recap of the recent Vita reviews Dan continues bashing his way through Skyrim, Rob gets his finishing rants on Uncharted 3 and L.A. Noire out while Zac keeps us up to date on the essential Dwarf Fortress update.
This week, instead of cancelling the 50th episode of the SaladCast due to the snow stopping Dan from being present, we replaced him. Welcome to the fray DJ Kippling (a.k.a. Richard) from the MagicTheGatheringUK YouTube channel. Cross promotion y'all.
We talk the Vita this week and all the "shoulda woulda coulda" stuff after Kippers got some hands-on time, Zac investigates the Skyrim competitor in Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and Rob plays LEGO Harry Potter (no really).
The weight of the backlog is firmly upon us now. Fortunately it's one of those points in the year where there’s a lull in the release schedule allowing us to begin the catchup. Although Zac seems to have gone a bit far with the idea.
Aside from starting a proper argument about DiRT 3 being potentially worse than DiRT 2 (somehow), Zac catches up with games he’s already played to death in the form of Rollercoaster Tycoon and the "relevant again" UFO: Enemy Unkown (the first X-COM, don-cha-know). Rob finishes Outland and gets a but further with Sonic Generations while Dan continues to lose himself in Skyrim.
Bringing in the new year in the best way possible, like any other week, it's time to start tackling that backlog. It's like plumbing that you never fixed properly and gurgles to you in the night, tormenting you into submission with the stench of guilt. I hope that's guilt...
For a game we're still a tiny bit 'meh' over we don't half talk about it a bit. Skyrim is indeed mysterious in its ways. Dan gets in on the discussion this time as Zac tries to figure out how you play the game sensibly. Rob finishes up on Timeshift, gushes about Sonic Generations and questions the direction of L.A. Noire. Dan wraps things up with some cardcasting in Magic: The Gathering and goes in circles with F1 2011.
In this, the last proper cast of the year before the GOTY event kicks off we totally forget to wish you a happy festive season or some equivalent. So enjoy your time off work and enjoy it even more when you listen to this, The SaladCast.
Rob catches up with L.A. Noire and the overlooked Timeshift, Dan glides around Arkham City and Zac tries to put off a few more Skyrim rants to talk Indie and Battlefield 3: Back to Karkand.
So happy fun times! Zac says "Eff 'em" BTW. Cheery.
3 weeks have passed since the last cast. Who's fault is that? Well it's kinda ours. No excuse. We got lazy. To celebrate our return here's a blurb that represents the spirit of laze:
Games, games, talking about games, blabla, Rob, Bulletstorm, Dan, L.A Noire, Zac, Just Cause 2, games, games, bla-di-bal-ba-bla, moo.
Dan is unavailable this week but Zac was just too enthusiastic about news. So here we are with another "soon to be trademarked" Tardcast.
Zac talks much Eve as the drama over the Incarna patch unfolds. He also reveals the extent of hackery that has befallen the Sonic Generations demo. Potential spoilers maybe? This provides Rob with an excuse to deliver ample quantities of Sonic related discussion, as always.
Due to an unforeseen failure in Dan's immune system the usual arrangement of casting in the Room of Doom cannot happen this week. This gives you the opportunity to play a fun game of "count how many time we talk over each other". Such fun.
In this episode Zeg covers new indie 2D Minecraft-style; release Teraria and gets a taste of dictatorship with Tropico 3. Rob begins to tackle two more games new to him with the 3D tactical anime war game Valkyria Chronicals and gets his trademark rant on towards Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Dan attempts to solve the puzzle of describing just what L.A. Noire is and what it may mean for Adventure gaming.
