Where Is Everyone?

I’ve just spent the last half hour trying to get into a multiplayer game of GTA4 on PS3 only to be constantly faced with error screens telling me I couldn't connect to a player or having trouble actually finding other people to play with. Is this a PS3 specific problem? Is anyone else having trouble finding people to play with? Or is everyone playing CoD:WaW? Normally I wouldn’t bother with GTA multiplayer but I really want to beef up my trophy collection. I'm pretty sure that 360 owners don’t come across these problems and it’s yet another reason to regret buying a PS3. I tried playing Warhawk too, still with the agenda of beefing up my trophy collection, and I couldn’t find anyone there either. There was a total of about 7 games open even with the “all regions” option turned on and they were all either password protected or locked due to me not owned the required booster pack. I find it ridiculous that after trying to play two seemingly popular games online I couldn't actually get into any matches. I hate for this to become a rant but in my mind Warhawk has no excuse, wasn’t the game supposed to be supposed to be supported with dedicated servers? If this is true is it just a matter of people losing interest in these games?

Gaming Podcasts

What gaming related podcasts so you enjoy listening to? I couldn’t think of anything else to blog about so I thought I would talk about the podcasts that I listen to.

(In the order they appear on my iPod)

1up FM- This podcast stars Philip Kollar and Nick Suttner from 1up. The podcast is broken up into a collection of segments and different features such as interviews, top 10 lists or just general gaming chit chat. I would definitely recommend listening to this podcast if you want to get to know the various personalities at 1up since most of them appear on the show at some point. They also have a great Backlog segment at the end of each episode where Philip and Nick along with other 1up-ers play through old games that they missed the first time around.

1up Yours – Another good podcast from 1up with Garnett Lee as the host. This podcast is a little more “up in your face” than 1up FM is but it usually involves great discussions about current and future releases. I have to admit that my interest has dropped since David Ellis joined though.

Broken Pixels- Yet another podcast from 1up.com (they have a great line-up of podcasts) Broken Pixels involves three 1up editors, usually Shane Bettenhausen, Crispin Boyer and Seanbaby, who find crappy games and make fun of them. It’s pretty funny so give it a try.

Retronauts – This podcast (from 1up) is about retro games and every episode focuses on a particular series or game. Im 17 so I like listening to hear about the old games that shaped the way for the GTA4’s and the COD4’s we get to play today.

Gamers with Jobs- I’ve only started listening to this recently because Shawn Elliot was on it shortly after he left 1up. It’s quite good but from what I can tell it’s recorded over Skype so there’s a slight lag and annoying moments when people laugh seconds after a joke is told. That’s only a tiny problem though so I definitely recommend this podcast.

GFW Radio/ LAN Party- GFW Radio was easily one of my favourite podcasts before it ended a few weeks ago. I listened weekly even though i don’t use my PC for serious gaming and i even listen to old episodes now and then because it’s so good. A few weeks after my beloved podcast died it was resurrected as LAN Party. LAN Party features Anthony Gallegos, Ryan Scott and Robert Ashley who featured on GFW Radio along with the two new additions Tina Sanchez and Matt Chandronait. LAN Party isn’t as good as GFW without key members Shawn Elliot and Jeff Green but it definitely has potential.

Giant Bombcast- I got so angry with this podcast a few months ago that I did the unthinkable, I unsubscribed. I have just re-subscribed and it seems ok, but we’ll see.

Game Scoop!- One of my favourites in recent months features IGN editors. This is a standout podcast for me because there is a really strong chemistry with the editors and every episode is genuinely funny and enjoyable to listen to.

Podcast Beyond- BEYOND! Fans of the podcast will be familiar with that greeting and get a warm fuzzy feeling whenever they hear it. Or maybe that's just me.