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Last week's shows returned normal after 2 weeks of E3 banter and poor sound quality. There was quite a shake up from top to bottom and many additions to the list. Check it out!
A few rules I am following:
The show has to be found on iTunes and has to be available as an MP3.
The podcast has to originally be a podcast and not be a TV or radio show made into an audio Podcast.
No shows can be ranked in the top 10 without a bi-weekly podcast or without me hearing it at least four times.
1. Rebel FM (Hammersuit)
Rebel FM makes the jump to the top spot by a hair. The show adds Robert Ashley, Scott Bromley and Brian Altano and loses Matt and Tyler. The last half hour is phenomenal as they get back to answering many bizarre and one showstopper question.
2. The GameSpy Debriefings (IGN)
Arthur Geis makes his first appearance to the show replacing Miggles’ empty seat. Still a great show with the same crew.
3. Stuff You Should Know (HowStuffWorks.com)
This week’s shows cover if Thomas Jefferson wrote the Bible and how Traffic works. This is the first time that one of their shows could be bumped into the top slot.
4. Giant Bombcast (GiantBomb)
The funniest show I have heard from Ryan, Jeff, Brad, and Vinny recently as they pour one out for podcasting from Sausalito. The game info they covered was vast and it became a little boring.
5. Game Scoop (IGN)
Game Scoop felt deflated this week as it is making some serious transitions removing “Knocking Boots” to make a completely new show. Anthony Gallegos, the coolest hyper-nerd, makes a great addition to the podcast as a contributor.
6. Girlfight (IGN)
Girlfight makes another jump with another interesting show from the opposite sex. It is true that you cannot differentiate their voices (Nicole-Christine Jessica-Meghan) but the show is “girl funny” (cute anecdotes). The show is most entertaining when they quickly bash something because it is so out of the ordinary. They may consider having a 5 minute segment called “bitch fest.”
They are honest and rarely vulgar. This makes them a breath of fresh air among gaming podcasts. They should consider a limiter and compressor for their podcast if no one is going to watch levels and operate the board. They are very loud sometimes.
7. NBA Today (ESPN)
Ryen was on vacation and there were no shows this week as free agency begins. It is the NBA off-season so it is hard to imagine it jumping to the top 5 soon.
8. Mobcast
The Mobcast sounds great this week focusing on E3 centered topics. Dan, Demian, Brett and Omri cover their most anticipated games coming out of the show, the games they sadly missed, which games will reappear at next year's expo and which games were addictive and avoidable.
9. Three Red Lights (IGN)
No TRL this week folks. This is a little sad because the last one was pretty damn good.
10. Nintendo Voice Chat (IGN)
Craig, Sam, and Jack are back and Daemon Hatfield fills the guest seat. NVC has had a great run of guest editors on the show for more than a month. The addition of these editors has changed Craig’s podcast persona of the father dealing with misbehaving children to him as a professional conversing with gamers. He is becoming a much more dynamic podcast host allowing others to intelligently contribute how they want (many times goofy) and question or fill gaps that people leave out of their descriptions.
Again, No shows can be ranked in the top 10 without a bi-weekly podcast or without me hearing it at least four times.
11. A Life Well Wasted
Robert Ashley deserves this spot for another week even if his podcast only comes out very infrequently. He revealed he is leaving San Francisco for Georgia. Not sure what that means for the podcast but he will be great at whatever he tries. A Life Well Wasted is always thought provoking and emotionally evocative. This is the most resource intensive podcast on the list combining excellent editing and original music to exceptional interviews. This show would vie for the top spot overall if it were created regularly. If you are a gamer, all of these podcasts are a must listen.
12. The Weekend Confirmed: The Video Game Show (Shack News)
Garnett Lee has a wealth of gaming knowledge and has the respect of nearly everyone that pays attention to games. He is able to find other exceptional contributors to make a discussion interesting. The Weekend Confirmed is another podcast that has such outstanding production and gaming coverage that it makes up for some minor annoyances.
Garnett’s style can be very distracting to new listeners. He overwhelms discussions with quantities of words that rival the micro-machine pitchman. He needs to be heard and has a nasty habit of interrupting or dismissing arguments. His questions are insightful and informative. He may be an acquired taste if you don’t immediately like him. This is a VERY good podcast.
13. Exploding Barrell Podcast
A.J. and Mike Minotti host another gaming centric podcast and they do the news better than nearly any other podcast with the exception of the Hotspot. They hit each news topic quickly and don’t spend too much time commenting on it. They come off as very smart without trying to force humor. Mike does sound a little whiny as he hammers on negatives. He makes well thought out complaints that are usually warranted. A.J. is a talk show natural. He is even-tempered and willing to let people talk. The production and sound quality is outright bad. It seems as if the show is not edited while using bad equipment. These are simple fixes. This is a high quality content show.
14.The HotSpot (GameSpot)
Brendan and Tom McShea and Tyler Winegardner are back for another Hotspot and Kevin Vanord joins for a short time to talk about Singularity and how it is going under the radar as a very good game. The show is still more listenable than in previous months even though the show started badly.
15. The Geekbox (Hammersuit)
Ryan, Andrew, Greg Ford, Ryan Higgins are joined by guest Patrick Joynt (Karen’s husband). No topic is off limits as they discuss entertainment from every medium. Patrick is highly opinionated, dominates conversations and can overstate beliefs to reinforce his view. He usually receives a ton of hate from listeners. If you like debate this episode is the one you should check out.
16. Podcast Beyond (IGN)
Greg, Ryan and Colin are joined by Mark Ryan Sallee on Podcast Beyond. The Podcast features some the most loveable editors at IGN however they are not overcoming their flaws. Colin should host the show as he is the most serious and most concise speaker and does not change the subject (Greg) or distract (Ryan). Mark Ryan would also be a good host. The show NEEDS a new host. Don’t lose Greg but make him a contributor.
17. Fantasy Focus NFL (ESPN)
Again, This is NFL's off-season and they have found little to talk about. Three weeks in a row and still nothing worth paying attention to. These normally interesting and funny guys are putting all their attention into their Fantasy Focus MLB. The MLB podcast is not nearly as compelling because fantasy baseball is less interesting.
18. The Joystiq Podcast
Justin McElroy Ludwig Kietzman and Chris Grant host The Joystiq Podcast. Having listened to this show many times it is safe to say that they routinely start badly. The guys are very insightful and funny but this does not happen in the first 10 minutes. These are signs that they need more preparation and feel uncomfortable until the show gets rolling. The show is certainly worth listening to as they talk about video games and play music.
19. Tech Fetish (IGN)
No show last week hurts after thier most recent podcast was a flop.
20. CAGCast (CheapAssGamer.com)
The CAGcast was MUCH better this week than last. They started with a public apology to Wombat from Cheapy-D about girl talk going too far. Busting on each other is part of their show and it is great. They cover video games very well but the sound quality can take the listener out of the show.
21. Dead Pixel Live
Derrick Hopkins hosts this podcast with contributions from assorted nicknamed folks. Derrick described his experience at E3 without talking about games veering toward conversations about parties, pretty girls, how people hate him and other self-loathing. Safe to say that his first episode back was not great.
Quote of the week:
GameSpy Debreifings
Brian Altano:
"Who is Handy Smurf, the chck?"
