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Beertiger

By Beertiger
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Vimster

Vimster

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I have a week off from work but when i get back I'm going to start from the start of GFW Radio. I have said before it's my favourite gaming podcast, and it still is. It manages to strike the perfect balance between a passion for PC gaming and pure off topic banter. Even when they bought the MS shilling they managed to ride that out. They were the dream team (even if Ryan spoke up a bit more). When a new GFW podcast popped up on my feed I'd put that shit straight on my MP3 player. If you can get the lot do get it.

As for Idle Thumbs, it definitely has it's moments. There have been times where I've laughed out loud on the bus when listening to it on the way to work. The love for Far Cry 2 is legendary, but I often find it descends to self-satisfied in-jokes at times. That's not to say it's not a good listen, far from it. But to me it's a proper curate's egg of a podcast. I'd say 90% was ace though.

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Smitty

Smitty

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Everyone references the (hilarious) jokes and humour, but the truth is that the core of Idle Thumbs is the best thoughts on videogames that i've heard or indeed read anywhere.

It being breathlessly funny is merely a bonus.

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RubberJohnny

RubberJohnny

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Yeah, actually I'm very glad there weren't any of the old references in the newest episode, when series come back after a while they tend to get absolutely filled with references to past jokes and events rather than new stuff, it's essentially regressive and opaque to anyone new. They recognised that though, they're clever guys.

Also it's amazing how much I remember from GFW Radio, I turned the compilation off because it was so familiar. Why can't my brain be filled with useful stuff?

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Naysonymous

Naysonymous

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Still haven't jumped on the GFW compilation, I will do but as I have listened to the entire run of GFW twice I think I'll remember almost all of it word for word! Still the best gaming podcast ever in my opinion, like Idle Thumbs they could go from thoughtful insight to very silly jokes and back again effortlessly. For me the best period of the show was late 07 through to it's end in autumn 08, when Anthony joined and Robert Ashley was appearing regularly.

I still listen to Rebel FM. What happened to Tyler? He just stopped appearing with no real explanation. Not that he added much to the show, but I am curious as to where he went.

The relationship advice makes me smile though. No matter what they ask Arthur just says don't do it. Doesn't he know that fussy sleeps alone?

Finally a 1up yours reunion on Weekend Confirmed this week. John and Mark are guests. Haven't listened yet, but their appearance probably means that Garnett won't be a dick for two hours.

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sandman

sandman

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I must admit I'm glad I dont have to hear John Davidson bang on about the death of the traditional games market every week nowadays. Change the record mate, you were saying the same thing 3 years ago and yet nothing has really changed.

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KYUSS

KYUSS

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Pretty much given up on Weekend Confirmed now. Garnett has absolutely nothing to add to videogame commentary or analysis any more. This is multiplied when that awful woman he's banging is on the show.

Agreed, Just because he gives her a Fuck it don't mean I give a Fuck!

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Naysonymous

Naysonymous

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A couple of hours into the GFW 2007 stuff, and it is still brilliant. I listened to it as it was broadcast, I have listened to it all again since and still I really enjoy it. Just onto Robert Ashley's stories about getting beaten up on a train in Italy and getting scammed by con artists in Shanghai. Not about games, but still utterly brilliant. Shawn and Jeff need to get into podcasting regularly again too.

http://elegy.ytmnd.com/ :wub:

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SteveH

SteveH

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I must admit I'm glad I dont have to hear John Davidson bang on about the death of the traditional games market every week nowadays. Change the record mate, you were saying the same thing 3 years ago and yet nothing has really changed.

Thank god I'm not alone. Got sick to death of him on 1up to the point I stopped listening. And on Weekend Confirmed he starts banging on about the console owners turning to the iPad instead. Yeah...I like my buttons when I play games you prick.

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cavalcade

cavalcade

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The strength of 1 Up Yours is a strength very few other podcasts have latched on to.

1UpY had a cast of diverse characters, with different tastes and most critically - MOST CRITICALLY - they all had different voices/accents. I've tried Idle Thumbs again, and I'm afraid it does nothing for me. It's well informed and the discussion is of high quality, but it's essentially a group of intelligent people coming from more or less the same direction talking intelligently about games. Which sounds like it should be awesome, but I find it rather boring. This is going to sound over analytical, but for a podcast to be good, and I'm talking a round table podcast discussion about a subject, it has to feel, in a way, like you're in that discussion too. Like you have a place. If the discussion is intelligent and covering all the bases then I switch off.

Classic era 1UpY or GFW gave the listener an "in". Be it your urge to scream at Garnett when he tripped over a word, like wanting to tear into Shane when he went off on a proSony tirade or counter one of Davidson's flabby points on casual gaming. It's more engaging and because there is such a clear distinction between the voices then finding your place in the discussion feels more natural. It is, and this sounds wanky, like you're at the table too. Idle Thumbs is a decent passive listen, but I don't feel any sort of attachment to it.

More generally the problem with podcasting these days is they're normally started by mates with essentially the same viewpoint on things. So ultimately they say nothing. I really liked Midlife gamers for a while but I think it suffers from the same problem. Funny/intelligent conversation isn't enough to carry a podcast long term. I've got to want to download the podcast because I want to spend time with the people on it. Other podcasts that do this well are the Kermode movie podcast and Guardian Football Weekly.

I think Weekend Confirmed shows promise when it's just Cannata and Lee. They need two more permanent chairs with vastly different perspectives. They need to drop the screechy Garnett girlfriend. But I think Lee and Cannata are a decent starting point. I can't understand the Cannata hate, and Lee is hopeless but that's why he's vital to the balance.

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NecroMorrius

NecroMorrius

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I must admit I'm glad I dont have to hear John Davidson bang on about the death of the traditional games market every week nowadays. Change the record mate, you were saying the same thing 3 years ago and yet nothing has really changed.

Whenever I read Rubberjohnny posts, I hear them in John Davidson's voice :coffee:

Garnett Lee is a brilliant podcaster, because he so often plays the fool or plays devil's advocate to make sure the conversation has two viewpoints. He knows exactly what he's doing. It's sometimes too forced though, and if the others don't form a decent argument it quickly dissolves into Garnett saying something he doesn't really believe and Jeff bluntly stating the opposite without being very insightful.

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RubberJohnny

RubberJohnny

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I really don't think 1UpYours holds up very well nowadays, judging by the This Year collection. People tuned in because it was a Microsoft zealot, a Sony zealot and a Nintendo zealot clashing with a host that basically egged them on back in the early days of the generation where everything we knew about the industry was being turned upside down.

A lot of it is rather dated as a result, there's not enough analysis or decent humour outside of fanboys doing old memes for it to be something still worth picking up.

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Massive Invisible Dog

Massive Invisible Dog

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1UpYours was just some loud men reading out some horrific fanboy argument thread from an internet forum, and Garnett was just awful. I listened to some early CGW/GFW podcasts recently and my heart sank when he was on the first one. Literally from the very first time he speaks he's saying something fucking stupid. Luckily he never appeared again.

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Mafro

Mafro

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I really don't think 1UpYours holds up very well nowadays, judging by the This Year collection. People tuned in because it was a Microsoft zealot, a Sony zealot and a Nintendo zealot clashing with a host that basically egged them on back in the early days of the generation where everything we knew about the industry was being turned upside down.

A lot of it is rather dated as a result, there's not enough analysis or decent humour outside of fanboys doing old memes for it to be something still worth picking up.

Some of it makes for pretty cringeworthy listening these days, especially the fanboy bickering between Luke and Shane.

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TreadingWater

TreadingWater

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Utter spam I know, but fuck it. Here's a new poddy from me Jon Denton (7 years in games journalism, gamestm, 360 mag, Telegraph, tonnes of others). The hook is that we cover 20 games in 40 minutes through dueling top 10 lists - no waffle, no talking about what we had for breakfast, just shitloads of games and opinion and a few gags and then we're out of your life.

Summat to listen to innit http://www.thefiniteplaylist.com

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