2P START! Live!: Cloudy With a Chance of PS3 Edition

Live!

RayPlus: thoughts on Bayonetta, Zelda Spirit Tracks, DJ Hero, Project Needlemouse, and terrible customer support!

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64 Comments

  1. Supersonic24 says:

    Sweet, it’s up early! Can’t wait to listen!

  2. bcow1020 says:

    No, I will not be that guy to say “FIRST!!!!!!!”. I will be the first to.. RISE FROM MY GRAVE…

    So, hey everyone, I’m bcow1020, and I am rising today. The first comic I read from you guys was the “Dancing with the Stars” one, which I found from a link. I started actually keeping up with your comics weekly at the “Paradise Lost” one from July, and I’ve been reading your comics and listening to your podcasts ritually since then. Thanks for creating the best video game-related webcomic on the internets, and keep on being awesome, if you will.

    Thanks,

    -bcow1020

    • bcow1020 says:

      Dang it, someone posted a comment while I was still busy typing mine.

      • sheppy says:

        It’s okay, mentioning First no matter what comment content in a website debut is a good way to draw the ire of anyone over the age of 12. So seeing you blunder your “First” attempt at least starts you out on solid ground.

      • roadjcat says:

        Eh, for me, it’s fine if you say “first” as long as you actually plan to say something after wards. Something semi-meaningful.

      • bcow1020 says:

        Okay, good, thanks. I’m pretty far over 12 anyway, and I do remember that podcast as well. Good times.

      • DrOswald says:

        Why do we all hate 12 year olds so much? Why not 13, or 11?

  3. Wyrm says:

    NeedleMouse

    Lol new Project Needlemouse Updates. Reminded me to listen to podcast!

    • It’s better that that came out today; gives it more time to be applicable for a BDA two weeks in a row…

      • blaster says:

        Actually, I already saw that black doom award coming.
        It’s like this.
        They hold a challenge about old school games.
        And they got a “bonus” system, which requires more correct answers.
        But the point is, once someone is correct, other people only have to Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V
        (or Command+C & Command+V) what is the point requiring extra answers?
        They should have HARDER questions instead.

    • roadjcat says:

      I’m petitioning the character choices. Actually you know what, no I’m not. The fact that Rouge isn’t on that list is a good thing isn’t it?

      • Highwater Trousers says:

        Isn’t that like how Tails isn’t on the list? If the list is composed of characters that will be cut, then characters that are considered popular/retro/essential/etc. and are missing can mean one of two things:

        1. They were never considered or were considered and already cut.

        2. They were already considered and have been decided to be included.

  4. Doopliss says:

    What was with that MASSIVE pause in the Spirit Track bit? I thought my iTunes broke!

    • Ray says:

      Wow. Whoops. One of those editing moments were I thought I would come back to it later, then got so far ahead of myself that I forgot.

  5. MetaRidleyR27 says:

    Ugh, I’m so far behind on the podcasts. I think I’ll just skip the last few and jump right into this one.

    • MetaRidleyR27 says:

      Great Podcast Guys! I’ve only got a few things to say this week.

      So far I’ve only played the demo for Bayonetta, but I’m very interested in playing the full game. It’s intentionally over the top, which isn’t something you see too often in games nowadays. The crazy amount of references to other video games is pretty awesome too.

      Both BDAs were hilarious this week! Tim’s hits even closer to home since I recently had a similar ordeal with Sony’s customer service trying to set up an online account for my PS3. As for Ray’s, I’m pretty shocked that the trailer was just made to excite the fans without any actual indication as to an actual classic Sonic game. Unless Sega did this intentionally to monitor the reactions, this isn’t going to end well.

      And since I didn’t get the chance to say this last week, congratulations on the girlfriend, Ray!

  6. Supersonic24 says:

    Wow. That show impressed me quite a bit! Congratulations, I actually thought this was on par with episode 100! Funny, and the Remix and Musical Misfit was were also awesome, though that was kind of luck on your part. Congrats on your PS3 Tim! I’ve been an owner for just over a year and hope you enjoy it! Also, is it possible to return your Blu-ray Player Ray? If it was anything above $100, I HIGHLY recommend you ditch it and jump to the PS3. I know I sound like a fanboy right now, but I’m just recommending a truly great product to you guys. Can you please either post or say on the podcast your PSN Name? I would love to play you online if you have any of my games.

    • Supersonic24 says:

      Also, I own a Wii, so I hope that stops anyone from labeling me a fanboy.

    • MetaRidleyR27 says:

      Agreed on both the Blu-ray player as well as the PSN name. Even though I don’t play games online all that much, it’d still be cool to have Tim as a PSN friend. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Great podcast, lots of topics.

    – Project Needlemouse – I have to say, I’m disappointed to find out the trailer revealed nothing because there was nothing to reveal. But hey, if it means they make a game based on fan reaction maybe that will be a good thing? I’m still hopeful. But yeah, Best (Worst?) BDA yet.

    – Link’s expression in the comic – I tried to comment about this last week but I think it was blocked by a firewall; anyway, Link’s expression was actually pretty amusing to me. He didn’t care about the rupee he left behind, nor does he care about the heart floating in front of his face. He just dead set on mowing down grass just to mow down grass. Something I know I’ve done in numerous Zelda titles.

    – Cloudy etc etc Meatballs – I’ve heard nothing but bad things about this movie except here. Guess I’ll have to rent it and find out for myself.

    – Final Fantasy VII remix – Can’t go wrong there. Though, now I really do feel like playing the game again…

  8. OMGITSJAD says:

    -Free PS3? Lucky >_>;;

    -You can play games with save files, however you gotta install channel data for the game on your Wii…which is POINTLESS since you may as well just install the game for 5 minutes, because really, are you gonna wanna play a game off an SD Card and then remember to delete the channel memory afterwards.

    -You guys hype up Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs so much….I gotta see the movie.(you guys sure that Tim didn’t just get the PS3 from Sony for supporting Cloudy?)

    -What do you mean Ray screwed up? I love playing Zelda of Legend: Track Spirit!

    -Sad for no secret ending, but the awesome Musical Misfit made up for it! ๐Ÿ˜€

  9. the mexi-CAN gamer says:

    i showed my college psychology professor your website, and the reaction was priceless. he spent the first hour watching your podcasts and then started to download them on i tunes lol i even got some extra credit for it. so i believe i owe you to thanks haha keep up the great podcasts tim and ray. P.S i feel your pain with the XBOX 360 menu’s

  10. Highwater Trousers says:

    Congratulations on the Playstation 3 Tim! Are we going to get to see what your Playstation avatar looks like?

    1. I will admit, I saw Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs after Ray suggested it. To be honest, the trailers for the movie did not make me interested in it at all. In terms of an award, I can’t quite compare the movie with Up though. One made me laugh and the other made me cry. To me, it’s like comparing a dramatic movie with one actor to a comedy movie with the same actor; they share something (being animated or the actor), but I can’t compare them because they had different goals in mind.

    2. I shouldn’t bring up the gap in the podcast, but I have to say I started laughing. It came a bit after Tim stated he didn’t have his thoughts prepared. When the huge pause came, I thought Tim stopped to arrange some notes or something along the lines.

    3. Wait, so the Project Needlemouse trailer is pretty much a lie? I put away my expectations and I’m still disappointed. I know, I’ll just pretend the game doesn’t exist and then when it comes out, I’ll be absolutely shocked. If it’s any good, I’ll just throw myself a little party.

    4. Last, I really enjoyed this week’s musical misfit and yes, customer support is usually terrible. It’s always a great time when one company sends you to another and that company sends you right back. Great podcast guys!

  11. roadjcat says:

    1. Well while you guys have been playing DJ Hero, Spirit Tracks, and Bayonetta, I’ve been playing a bunch of downloadable games and Borderlands. Borderlands is awesome by the way.

    2. And yeah, the graphics with at least Phantom Hourglass (haven’t played Spirit Tracks) irk me too. I’d rather have good 2D graphics than bad 3D ones.

    3. And no Ray, you can play games off an SD card that require save files. I’ve been playing both Monkey Island and Harvest Moon off my SD card.

    4. The emotions in the comic really made it seem like the joke was that Jack’s hard work was all for naught. That’s why I was confused.

    5. Wait, you were getting Castle Crashers, Tim!? I think you should still get it. It’s a great game.

    6. Oh yeah, I know what you mean about not being able to find Twitter, I didn’t find Facebook until like two months after it launched.

    7. I think the whole Needlemouse trailer is just a red herring used to make us all surprised when the new Sonic Team game is revealed to be completely centered around Rouge. ๐Ÿ˜€

    • CKcheeseboy says:

      3. Yeah, the save data itself has to be on the Wii, but the channel can be wherever.
      The only other thing is you need to make sure to have room on your Wii for it to move the channel when you play it, but I haven’t noticed it to take that long and it doesn’t keep it there so you probably wouldn’t even notice any difference.
      Official info, if you want more clarification.

  12. sheppy says:

    Congrats on the PS3, Tim. Yeah, the initial firmware blows (at launch it wasn’t as bad but PS3 did nowhere near as much).

    Here is a tip for you though. If the game download is part of the active download section, it will automatically install but NOT if it’s a background download. Weird, huh? So here’s when you go about it. Make a huge list of things in your download queue, demos, games, etc. Then when you’re ready to go to bed or head off to work, go all the way to the left on the XMB and select Turn Off System. Before you turn it off, it will give you the option to continue downloading the content. Select this. PS3 will automatically turn off after the downloads are done but more importantly, downloads in the queue will automatically install.

    Or of course you could buy a PSP and use super interwebs magic to remotely control your PS3 at home and download/install long before you’re even in front of your console

    Another tip, when in your games folder with demos and PSN titles, press triangle, scroll down to category, and enter something in. Now back out to your game wedge, press triangle, and select “Sort by category.” This is a real quick way to keep your folder from getting too crowded and you can easily seperate games from betas to even categories if you have ~70 games on your XMB like I do.

    And in return for these tips, throw me a friend invite. sheppy is my PSN name.

  13. The Gastronomic Gamer says:

    Best podcast in a while. Definitely a coupl’a Black Dooms to consider for the best Black Doom for Season 3.

    By the way, I would give Spirit Tracks a 9/10 if they replaced the train with a world map. The dungeons later are ingenious, but getting from place to place is just a chore.

    NOTE TO GAME DEVELOPERS: If it’s not fun, make it fun or take it out. I don’t want my time wasted.

    • roadjcat says:

      In response to you note…didn’t I say that before and you said that certain things like the Game Over screen are necessary even though they’re annoying? ๐Ÿ˜›

      • sheppy says:

        Game Over screen, yes. Blowing a choo choo trains whistle as a combat mechanic, no.

      • The Gastronomic Gamer says:

        As Sheppy said, it’s subjective. The game-over screens are a motivator to not lose. Trains are a necessary and constant part of gameplay that is simply not fun.

  14. TheLupineOne says:

    Hi! I’d like to make a suggestion for the next MUSICAL MISFIT!
    It’s “Sky Tower” from Pokรฉmon Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team on the Game Boy Advance and Pokรฉmon Mystery Dungeon Blue Rescue Team on the Nintendo DS.
    Click here to listen!
    NOTES (He says…):
    In Podcast #98, Ray told us that his Musical Misfit that time, “NiGHTS and Reala”, was “The Citizen Kane of Video Game Music”, the tipping point of his life in Video Game Music. For me, this is my “Citizen Kane”. When I first heard it, I just loved it. It was unlike any Video Game Music I’d ever heard. It had that atmosphere that is truly worthy of the final dungeon in the main story.

  15. Talduras says:

    (Not in chronological order…)

    1. Wow. Epic Black Doom Awards there. I may never see a trailer the same way again, and may learn to appreciate the excellent customer service I’ve had from Nintendo (almost tempted to tell that story, but I’d rather not bore people to sleep =P ).

    2. So… blank space in the podcast, eh? Has Ray been messing with the space-time continuum again? One of these days you will unleash the dreaded Applecalypse! O_o

    3. Love how you guys got into some specific game talk this time around regarding what you’ve been playing recently, though now I’m noticing just how limited my tastes in games are these days. Nothing says “I’m not as hardcore as I used to be” quite like there being only one game that may make me break down and by a PS3: The Last Guardian.

    4. Alright, I’m going to have to tell you why I thought the comic was funny, because I wasn’t thinking of either one you said, Ray. Well… admittedly, I did have your first one in mind when all was said and done, BUT the CORE of what made it funny to me was just how random the comic was. You have several panels of setup involving Harvest Moon farming, and then out of nowhere Link comes along slashing the plants like we all do in Zelda games (thankfully, in Twilight Princess you can slash AND run!). The only real hint to that was the title of the comic, so the randomness of it and the callous expression on Link really sold the punchline for me, if differently than you expected.

    5. Wow. A burn from a Grave Riser. And you took it with no retaliation? What happened to the Tim that sent Microsoft customer support large, loud all-caps text? I think you took anger management classes too soon and too quickly…….. wait… did I just say “Tim” and “anger management” in the same paragraph? Uh oh. Either I’m in an alternate reality, or Tim has been replaced by Shadow Tim… or was replaced… oh, this makes my head hurt…

    6. No blooper section. Wow, those mics really are like the real-life version of a power-up. Congratulations, guys!

    Note to self: Must watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

    Second note to self: I probably shouldn’t type so much, as I may be boring people to sleep.

  16. blaster says:

    So the project needlemouse was a LIE?
    Speaking of Sonic, a classic sonic collection is coming out on DS this March, including StH, StH2, StH3, S&K.

    Those online support team was real epic I’d say. Epiclly failed so epiclly

    Wow. a show REALLY ends with the musical misfit? A new one to me. XD

  17. TheLupineOne says:

    “It’s a battle everyday…”

    You pronounced my name wrong! It’s not “The Lu-PINE one”: it’s “The LUP-ine one”. Pronounce it right if you select my Musical Misfit Selection.

    Zelda File Select Music! Epic.

    Shocked by the shocking truth about Pikachu in a Sombrero Project Needlemouse.

  18. randomperson says:

    i have to disagree with tim last podcast was awesome

  19. MiMGodfather says:

    In total agreement on Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs! It was seriously one of my favorite movies ever. And like Tim, probably my favorite animated movie. I saw it twice in theaters. Once with my girlfriend (who compares my quirkiness to that of Flint’s… hoping that’s a good thing), and another time with my mom who was visiting MN from KY (and hadn’t been to a movie theater in over a year).

  20. Kvb says:

    Good podcast, guys. Good podcast.

    I may be alone in this, considering the hate the Jessica Barriga segment received back in the day, but I certainly don’t mind hearing about your girlfriend, Ray. I’m pretty curious, in fact.
    Really, the only reason I didn’t like the Jessica segments is because they seemed so very, very scripted.

    And I hope you enjoy you PS3 more than I have, Tim. The only good games I have for it are LittleBigPlanet and GTA4. GTA isn’t exclusive, though, and LBP didn’t keep my attention for as long as I had hoped.
    Ah well, I guess I could always get Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs for it.

  21. D3vin says:

    Wouldn’t PS3 precipitation hurt when It hit you? Especially if it is the “fat” model.
    *pulls out an umbrella*

  22. Chocolate_bob says:

    Tim, I had the same exact problem with customer support with Nintendo. The only diffrence is that I got to talk to a real person by the end, and not just get a the template answers.

    See my list of e-mails chronicled here:

    http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AY42Fl6CoSi-ZGZ2dDZkYjhfNGtteDYzYjN0&hl=en

  23. Talduras says:

    Anyone else notice that Tim has the “fat” PS3 as his “new” PS3? Guess he wasn’t kidding when he said he hated the PS3 Slim redesign (scroll to number 92).

    Oh, and you only now saw Cloudy with Meatballs? But… then that means this was all a lie at the time? I… I don’ t know what to believe anymore! *runs away crying*

    • Tim says:

      Actually, it is a slim PS3, sorry if the picture wasn’t very clear. I would never get the huge one, just way too big/noisy/power hungry/old. While the aesthetics on the new one aren’t spectacular when you’re holding it in your hand, it look pretty nice tucked away in an entertainment center where you only see the front.

      • Talduras says:

        Heh. You’re going to laugh when I tell you what threw me off… well, besides the bright reflection off the PS3. The photo setup looked to me like all one picture that you pasted a big PS3 publicity picture in the middle of (where the TV would’ve been), so I thought the picture on the bottom was actual size in relation to the above picture. Seems I didn’t pay attention when you said you’re PS3 sat between the 360 and the accessory-crowded Wii.

        Basically, I had massive comprehension fail. =P

    • CKcheeseboy says:

      I’m surprised you didn’t point out that since Tim just got a PS3, this was a lie at the time.

      On a side note, nothing makes you appreciate Ray’s current art like going way back into the archives…in fact, I’m pretty sure the same person didn’t do that comic and the most recent one. Ray must have died at some point and has since been replaced by Billy Shears without us noticing.

      …but seriously, congrats on the improvements, Ray.

      • Talduras says:

        I’m not well-versed (is that even a term?) with the older comics. I probably started randomly coming across these comics around #40 thanks to Gonintendo.com, and probably added 2PStart to my actual comics* bookmark folder around somewhere between #53 and #70 (got to realize I had a constant flow of GoNintendo.com provided links to these comics, so of course it’s hard for me to remember!).

        So I jumped in around the time Ray’s style was evolving, like an adolescent reaching… er… like a flower blooming.

        *(As I’ve said, I have no other webcomics bookmarked, so all those other comic links are ones released in newspapers. My favorites are Retail and Lio).

    • freeplay says:

      2pstart is a lie. It really doesn’t exist, we have now crossed into, the twilight zone.

  24. Apkinesis says:

    Congrats on the “free” PS3, Tim! Though there aren’t many exclusive games worth buying for it, in my opinion — only three really come to mind (MGS4, Infamous, Little Big Planet), and only the first of which I own.

    Epic Black Dooms this week; I don’t see them being topped anytime soon! I was literally shaking my head in disappointment of everyone having anything to do with Needlemouse.

    Also, I saw Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs a day or two before hearing this Podcast (admittedly only because Ray said it was so great some Podcasts ago; otherwise I would’ve never given it a chance). Best comedy movie I’ve ever seen ๐Ÿ˜€ Many thanks for the recommendation, Ray! On a side note, the humor in that movie reminded me much of Chowder (Cartoon Network), one of my favorite cartoons today (and one of very few good cartoons left on the air).

    PS: lol long mid-Podcast pause ๐Ÿ˜›

  25. Gregjr94 says:

    Great podcast as usual guys.

    1. Guest web-comic writer huh? How about Triforcebun from Brawl in the Family ๐Ÿ˜€

    2. One song that comes to mind with way too many choruses at the end is Uncle Salty from Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. We get the idea. It’s faster to go from L.A. to New York than finish the song.

    3. Long moment of silence in honor of the last podcast for so many hours.

    4. Congrats on the PS3 Tim!

    5. Wow. The Project: Needlemouse trailer is like people trying to play Dark Side of the Moon to The Wizard of Oz and then discovering Pink Floyd was watching the movie and they were like, “Hey! Let’s make it oddly fit to the movie so people waste their life analyzing it to death.

    6. I recently sent a complaint to Microsoft about the Holiday deals myself and I was like, “So wait, all I get is just suggestion that are generic? Come on. You have customers that have a problem.” I was not too happy with them myself either.

  26. Burnflare says:

    Hey Ray, quick question: what kind of software do you use for the remixes you make? I’ve been wanting to try it, but I don’t know where to start.

    • Ray says:

      I can’t say I necessarily do a lot of remixes, but the software I’m using is the Garageband application preinstalled on Macs. There’s a whole world of unoriginality based on default instruments, samples, and Apple Loops to get swamped in, but if you can stay out of those you will find a very full-featured music creator while still keeping your dignity.

      • Burnflare says:

        Well, ironically, I just got a new Mac. I have some experience with Garage Band, but maybe I’ll have to experiment a little more.

  27. Talduras says:

    Ugh. Though I lost interest in the series long ago, it’s still painful to think of some of rough edges and some of the downright atrocities Square-Enix will allow in their Final Fantasy games these days. Case in point, this recently released Final Fantasy 13 “International Trailer” (warning: video will auto-stream upon clicking the link).

    I had hints from previous trailers that the voice acting would be bad, but this confirmed it. When the voice matches the character, the acting tends to be terrible (specific case: intro scene with the girl and trench-coat dude). When the voice doesn’t match, the acting is STILL terrible (that whiny girl, that emo girl… pretty much any of the girls). As if that wasn’t bad enough, there seems to be a few glaring animation glitches, which means for all the time and glamour they put into this game, they STILL seem to have some technical issues that stick out like a sore thumb!

    If this is what passes for trailer material, I shudder to think what issues the full game will have… luckily, I will be nowhere near the game.

    • Supersonic24 says:

      Though I’m skipping this one because of both annoying looking characters and needless “suggestive themes”, I have to admit, what I’ve seen of Versus XIII looked awesome. Noctis snapped a guys neck with his legs. It was awesome, he jumped on his head better than Mario himself!

      • Talduras says:

        I still know next to nothing about Versus XIII! All I know is it’s supposed to be action-based, and is directed by the guy that directed the Kingdom Hearts games (Tetsuya Nomura). If the game doesn’t have “suggestive themes,” I may look into it. Of course, I don’t have a PS3 or 360, so at this rate I’ll have to wait until The Last Guardian gives me a good excuse to cave in.

  28. Loooca says:

    Great podcast! And because I didn’t get to say this last time: Congrats on the new girlfriend, Ray! Hope you all the best, and I’m sure snippets of your daily lives won’t do us any harm. Share away~ Aaand congrats on the PS3, Tim! I have my “Wii Gear” all stuffed in a neat box, it’s like a gadget warehouse in there.

    @Tim in General: I had the chance to watch UP a while ago, and I couldn’t help think of all the things you said while watching it. Everyone around me was all cheers and full of the happy after it ended (much like Ray, really), and my mind just poked at all the things you didn’t like ;p

    @Project Needlemouse: Wow. I actually believed that stuff. It was too good to believe, but we just wanted to believe… or grasp onto that last bit of hope, I guess? We’re pretty hopeless at this point.

    @Musical Misfit: Ray, you used to use some sort of bgm a while ago (or a very long time ago, I can’t seem to remember) that I thought was this, but now that I listen to it, seems like you were using something else — I bet this didn’t make any sense, so onto the suggestion: Life’s A Beach – Breath of Fire III.

    (Augh, there should be a “I Could Have Really Posted A Comment, But Didn’t” segment around here. Seriously, I still have last week’s podcast tab open and just… haven’t left a comment. I’ve been doing this since forever. Probably because I always have the podcast on as bgm as I work on PS — but that’s just a lazy excuse. I’m sorry.)

  29. Keja says:

    Bayonetta looks like an amazing game, but I just got frustrated with the demo when the rings didn’t stop me from dying.

    Still, I at least managed to turn my hair into a stiletto heel and kill some angels.

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