Benheck.com Podcast 35 - Holiday Special 2007
It’s that time of the year again for Holiday Special podcast!
Santa Claus, in a mad delusional rage over Wii Vouchers, turns to drinking in this newswire photo
First, pour yourself some eggnog, sit by the fire and listen to our heartwarming intro “Video Pirates Save Christmas”. If you’re wondering what happened to the promised “It’s a Wonderful Half-Life”, well, once again I couldn’t get that script to work. Oh well, it gave us a reason to bring the video pirates back.
Next, indulge yourself in our amazing topics. First up is”Long Delayed Games”, in honor of the Duke Nukem Forever teaser coming out this week. Then we discuss “Is CGI Destroying the Movies?”, a commentary on the overuse and cost of special effects and how they still don’t look as real as Cecille B. DeMille actually lining up 10,000 people behind Charlton Heston.
Finally we hand out our “Game of the Year” awards. Beyond the normal and boring categories such as “Best Game” and “Graphics” we also give out nods for “Most Obvious Betrayal Scene”, “Least Crappy Ending” and other interesting acheivements. Enjoy and have a happy New Year…
Listen to Benheck.com Podcast Episode 35
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December 21st, 2007 at 6:13 pm
[…] The Official Site of Benjamin J Heckendorn created an interesting post today on Benheck.com Podcast 35 - Holiday Special 2007Here’s a short outline […]
December 21st, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Doesn’t the U in PSU stand for “unit”?
December 21st, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Doesn’t the “U” stand for Unit?
December 22nd, 2007 at 8:39 am
Does it? I guess that makes sense…
December 22nd, 2007 at 1:01 pm
great show as usual glad ben didn’t just decide mid sentence like he sometimes does that theyve been wasting our time and end the show.
December 23rd, 2007 at 7:18 pm
I’m surprised you guys didn’t mention Star Wars in the special effects thing. That was too much. They added things in some places where it was completely unnecessary! There was a scene in RotS where they added a hallway to the background just to “increase the depth” of the scene. At least Star Trek used real stuff!
And why didn’t you mention Team Fortress 2 as vaporware? That disappeared off the face of the earth!
Finally, I think it was too bad that you guys didn’t do It’s a Wonderful Half-Life. If I write it, will you guys produce it next year? HL2 is my favorite game ever, so I would really enjoy making it.
Well, until the next podcast (or hopefully a Fistful one :Ahem:), I bid you adieu.
December 24th, 2007 at 9:31 am
A couple of podcast notes -
That could be the best intro ever. I think you guys should do a contest where the listen has to count how many oblivion references there are in the next podcast.
You need spoiler alerts! I just got a 360, with Halo 3, Dead Rising, and I’m going to get Lost Planet. And now I know how they all end! Please, next time tell the listeners to fast forward to a specific time to avoid spoilers.
Now for the Star Wars Holiday Special. I have this on DVD. I will mail you a copy of this (not considered piracy because it was never released outside of when it ran on TV) but I have two stipulations: I will not provide the booze you will need to make it through the movie and I want to hear you guys talk about it on a podcast.
Shoot me an email with your address and I’ll get it out to you.
December 24th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
@Rich:
Snape kills Dumbledore with Rosebud but it turns out that he was dead the whole time and made of people. Also, I need a copy of the Star Wars Holiday Special, too.
December 24th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
@Elk:
I hate Harry Potter more than you can imagine. The only reason I know you’re talking about it is that I heard on the news that the Dumbledore guy is gay.
Trust me, you don’t want The Holiday Special. Really. After Ben and Jones finish it, you can have their copy. Believe me, they won’t want it anymore.
December 24th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Dude, I lasted through Battlefield Earth. I can handle it.
Back to the podcast, I finished the last fifteen minutes, and I think Bioshock was overrated. There, I said it. Mass Effect actually pulled me in, Bioshock pissed me off. I hated all of the little things, like having to press A CONSTANTLY. But I’ve been playing Mass Effect so much and I get sad thinking that it won’t be two ’til 2009 before the next one comes out. And I’m saving up for Rock Band, which promises to be awesome.
December 24th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I would watch Battlefield Earth five times in a row before I would sit down to watch the Holiday Special again. And that’s saying something.
To he honest, I haven’t played Bioshock or Mass Effect yet. But, I have played Rock Band. Now, I’ve only owned a 360 for a few weeks (I also don’t own a PS3 or Wiiiiiii) so maybe I’m not really qualified to make a “Game of the Year” call, but I think that Rock Band is way overrated. It’s kind of fun, but I really see it as a novelty. Maybe it’s because I’m a real musician; I’m not sure. I also agree that it’s not a good expectation to be able to get three friends over at the same time that want to play this game, let alone people that are good enough to have fun playing it. I see this, as well as the Guitar Hero games, a fad that’ll be over before the holidays next year.
December 25th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
The ‘G’ in CGI stands for Generated, not Graphics.
December 25th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
UPDATE: I am getting Rock Band. And just in time for me to have finished Mass Effect, which is still blowing me away. I’m not normally much of an RPG person, but Mass Effect is so huge that I might just get myself a copy of Oblivion, which I have been avoiding because I already don’t have enough time for games. And I totally think The Orange Box is the most valuable, but I guess I’m biased, being a Valve fanboy who hasn’t yet played Rock Band and all…
December 26th, 2007 at 9:40 am
@Rich
Sorry for spoiling those endings for you! Ugh! I hate when people do that for movies, so I feel your pain. We’ll strive to do better in the future… I think you’ll love all of those games regardless though. Lost Planet is a blast online! Speaking of that if you’re ever on Live look me up (Gamertag = jarjarisgod) and we can throw down on some MP sometime. Also, message me with your e-mail address and I’ll shoot you my address so we can check out that SW Christmas Special. It has to be complete and total agony. LOL
@Elk
Battlefield Earth is pain. It was so bad it actually started our Shitty Movie Night tradition. I’ve actually sat through it twice! From what I’ve heard, the SW Christmas Special is an abomination of unfathomable proportions. There’s a reason Lucas hasn’t made it available on DVD: he’s not broke. LOL
And yes, Rock Band is a better value than The Orange Box IMO. The Orange Box is great, but I haven’t gotten much mileage out of it yet. Rock Band on the other hand, has been played for countless hours (an exaggeration, but it has been a lot).
Oh, and in closing… Elk, please run out and pick up Oblivion as soon as you can. IT IS AWESOME! Speaking of that, I need to get my copy back from Ben… :)
December 26th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
I’ll get Oblivion once I have time for it. And I don’t think that’ll ever happen. It actually scares me a little…
December 27th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Ah yes. I saw Pre-Played had the “Platinum Hits” version of Oblivion for $20, I should grab it and return your copy from whence it came.
Then Jones will say “Thank you kind sir!”
December 27th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
I’ve actually started using that phrase despite not having played the game. And where the hell is Ecksem’s overly long-winded post? I’m starting to miss him.
December 27th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Shamefully, I have yet to listen to this newest podcast; computer problems had sidelined my attempts to plow through BioShock, and then Crysis and CoD4 came out, so I’ve been trying to finish BioShock these past few days in order to avoid the only (potential, I don’t know if there actually is one) spoiler I really give a damn about. I was planning on wrapping it up and listening today, but then the crap with Bhutto went down, so that occupied my free time. Long-winded post tommorow, I swear it!
December 29th, 2007 at 6:59 am
I find it pretty neat how you used the song Lacrimosa, from Mozart’s Requiem in D minor. Classical music rocks!
In my opinion the movie Iron Eagle was a lot better than top gun. While it’s a bit cheesy in some scenes, overall it’s a pretty kick ass movie. If you’re a fan of the F-16 Fighting Falcon then you definitely need to watch Iron Eagle.
December 29th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
@Jones -
I sent you a message on XBL. My gamertag is “daedric radar”. I made your SWHS disc and checked it. This will win your shitty movie night.
@Elk -
If you pass up Oblivion, you are missing out on one of the best games ever made. I played through the PC version (which is very similar, if not identical to the 360 version) and I’m beyond impressed.
December 29th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
The only reason I wouldn’t play Oblivion is because I don’t have a whole lot of time for games. I really think it looks good, but I only have time for so much…
December 31st, 2007 at 12:48 am
Yes Lambda, I like to use classical music whenever possible! See POSSUMUS MAN.
RE: Oblivion, I was just playing it tonight and saw I’d logged 50 some hours thus far. I beat the “main quest” at about 25 hours, so that gives you an idea of how much there is to do. In a world of mostly 10 hour games (and I won’t get started on COD4hours again) Oblivion is a bargain and a half!
January 6th, 2008 at 4:41 am
Best MP is Team Fortress 2 for the PC, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise! Grrr!
Really tho, I quickly got bored with Halo 3’s dull maps, half arsed game modes and legions of hooting dick holes screeching into my ear.