This week James and Yuko live the American Dream catching up with the girls from Teen Mom, Pete really likes Batman and Trackmania 2, listener tweets are awesome and Pete needs a special sock to contain his love of Toy Soldiers: Cold War.

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Another Night in Moscow was a pretty unique event. There was alcohol, women in what some people might call uniforms that were a tad too tight (or possibly even see-through [even though not a single person/guy would complain]), and way more games than I was personally expecting to see. And of course, since 1C Company was holding the event, and since they are one of the largest Russian developers in the world, the event was held in the Russian Consulate General down in San Francisco.

Max Scoville of Destructoid.com

After about 30 minutes of a social drinking atmosphere that was held on the first floor of the Consulate General, Tracion PR (who set up the event) invited everyone downstairs so we could hear all about 1C’s games, and from the miscellaneous sponsors of the event. It was a straight PowerPoint that we saw (you can see the pictures of the PowerPoint and several other pictures in this previous post), along with some in-game video and trailers.

Before I continue though, I have to mention the video. The game video was by far the weakest part of this event. The videos that we watched, I felt, were not exciting, pretty pixelated, and in all honesty, it just did not do these games justice. Not a single video got me excited over the games that we were here to check out. Maybe that is one of the many differences between our western developers and some other developers in other countries. The videos just felt so unpolished, and I felt that they were not capturing the best aspects of their games. If felt like we were looking at graphics that might have been playable on systems that were 5 years old (or even maybe longer). Now, when I played the games myself, I was actually impressed by the graphics that I was exposed to; the game trailers and footage, not so much. In all honesty though, I don’t know what was powering the PC’s that we were playing on.  I do know AMD was one of the sponsors of the event, so I know they had their newest and best stuff there. Anyway, I’ll just end this with the following: what I played was a whole lot better then what the trailers showed me.

With the games I played, I’ll be going more into depth later indivually over the next week. I will say, though, that 1C Company games are no joke. They know who their target markets are, and the tend to go after them. They do not dumb down their games for the casual market. Now, because of this, their games are a bitch. No joke. For someone like myself who doesn’t play too many PC games (I live in a Mac household), and for someone that was new to some of these franchises, these games were not made to be pick up and play.

I’m referring to off road racing sims that require using winches, switching to low or high gears, etc. Or flight sims that, when you go all in, you can use 5 screens to act as one, or use full fledged fight controls (IL-2 STURMOVIK: Cliffs of Dover is what I’m referring to here and it was probably one of the most enjoyable games I played at the event).

Like I said, I’ll be going more in depth into each of the games over the coming days here on Platform Nation. I did see a lot in one night, and I want to just make sure that I do these games the proper justice that they deserve.

David Tractenberg of Traction Public Relations (middle)

Before I end this, I want to give David Tractenberg from Traction Public Relations and the entire 1C Company staff a special thank you for inviting us to the event. I really appreciate it, not only for myself who was able to attend this event down in San Francisco, but for Platform Nation as well. By including us, you are helping us achieve our goal of giving our community a voice that is heard in the industry. Thank you. And for everyone else, stay tuned to Platform Nation, as I will be putting out coverage over everything I saw and played while I was attending this event.

The box of the "Value Pack for Girls" Bundle.

Personally, I find the name to be a huge stereotype about girls. I am sure not every girl in the world likes pink. There are probably boys that like pink. Would it have been to easy to just call this a pink PSP bundle?

The contents of the "Value Pack for Girls" bundle.

Candella Software and LTD and Sega Wonderworks have announced an incredibly-titled racing game. Cargasm, for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, iPhone, claims to have meticulous photo-realistic tracks. The name’s no misnomer; the faster you go, the Cargasm Girls will cheer you on, and you can collect them for your Cargasm Harem. Additionally, Ecstasy points and trophies can be collected and compared on the online leaderboard.

Cargasm follows on the heels of new racing series Blur and Split/Second within the past year. The racing field is moderately packed, with everything from battle games to authentic racers, vying for your first place bucks. While the new series seems to be banking on “sex sells”, it didn’t really work for BMX XXX. Still, looks like they’re trying to have fun while being extra-photorealistic in the graphics department.

Cheating: Featuring The Most Popular Girls on the Internet.

This week we take a look at cheating in games throughout the ages; from early button codes, to cheat cartridges all the way through to contemporary, disreputable multiplayer game exploits.

Who better to discuss this highly suspect behaviour, that virtually every one of us has dallied with, or at least encountered in some form over the years than Tara and Sassy, hosts of The Most Popular Girls on the Internet Podcast.

We reveal our fondest memories and worst experiences and cover a wide range of different ways of cheating, assessing how that impacts on the players of games and what might be in store for the medium in the near future.

If you’d like to hear more gadgets, games and social-networking banter from Tara and Sassy then check out their weekly show.

Nintendo Wii Special

This week we launch our first of three console-specific episodes in the run up to Christmas where we will be exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the big three and whether they will be worth buying for our listeners.

To assess the Wii we employed the expert opinions of James Batchelor, staff writer for MCV and veteran of The WiiDS podcast. We asked him why we or our listeners should consider purchasing a system so often dismissed as casual.

After that Alex reviews Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony and Tony talks about how a game aimed at tweenage girls has stolen his heart this week; Band Hero.

You can find James’ podcast here at www.wiids-podcast.com and we’d like to warmly thank him for coming on and giving our show a long-needed dose of Nintendo perspective.

Tekken fans who can’t wait until October to see their favorite fighters in action need to check out the video tournament at the new Tekken website. Gamers can vote for their favorite fighter in different matches throughout the tournament. Right now visitors of the site can vote for either the half devil Kazuya or Paul “I need more hair gel” Phoenix. Between now and the Oct. 27th release date there will be lots of match-ups for fans to vote on.

The best part about participating in the voting is that gamers can unlock fun online prizes and unique content for the game itself. One prize is a girls of Tekken poster. They definitely know what motivates gamers. There are trailers, pictures, bios, and more for people to better get to know the cast of Tekken 6. You can check out the videos at GameTrailers and all of the cool content at the Tekken 6 website.

Download Now (06/14/2009)

We give you our big announcement, tell you who won the Xbox 360 Giveaway, talk about E3, Hollywood, touch on the new Metal Gear, Max Payne 3, Criterion thinks everyone is just lazy, Project Natal, and much more. We help out with 2 more Relationship segments, talk about meatspin.com, and an a strange story where passing out might have been the best option. Sit tight and get ready, Squad XP is in full force today.

Mailing Info:

SquadXP LLC
16154 sw 44th LN
Miami, FL 33185

Relationship Email => girls@squadxp.com

Download Now (06/04/2009)

I had a little down time today so I put together this recording. My throat is killing me but I touch on some the cool things I saw while at E3. I wanted to talk more about LA and the trip but my throat just didn’t allow it. I cover some highlights from the M$, Sony, and Ubisoft Conference and share some insight on L4D2, MAG, PSP go, Madden, as well as other games.

Mailing Info:

SquadXP LLC
16154 sw 44th LN
Miami, FL 33185

Relationship Email => girls@squadxp.com

Download Now (05/19/2009)

It’s not 2008 it’s 2009. After I land the plane we talk about Forza 3, Halo Wars, Fallout DLC to PS3, we tell you why your life is better then other peoples, check email, and give you some insight to what is going down for E3.

Mailing Info:

SquadXP LLC
16154 sw 44th LN
Miami, FL 33185

Relationship Email => girls@squadxp.com