In honor of Chapter and Emperor, the crew is rampaging through hordes of orcs on Forge World Graia this week.  There’s a long discussion about narrative and the importance of backstory in long-established IPs.  And for a game touted as an antithesis to cover-based shooters, does Space Marine manage to leave its mark on 3rd person shooters, or is it better off being called Gears of Warhammer?

I’m a robot.  Not something fancy like a Cylon or Geth, just a soulless machine incapable of basic emotions such as fear.  This should be no surprise to anyone that has followed older episodes, but I’m a hard scare when it comes to video games.  Listen in to our Amnesia: The Dark Descent show to hear why the rest of the guys are coveting the tattered remains of their sanity, while I’m casually appraising the horror atmosphere like a fine wine.

Another long break, but we’re back!  Again!  This time we’re talking about Valve’s Portal 2.  If you haven’t played this one yet, you’ve either been living under a rock or have an aversion to puzzle games.  As a bit of a spoiler, this one is really worth your time.  Javier isn’t with us this time, which is a little ironic given he got the Golden Potato during the ARG, but listen in to hear Jeremy invoke Godwin, find out (another reason) why Drew is a terrible person, and find out why I’m not a Cylon.

It’s been a long break for the FUDcast due to the holidays, but we’re back!  In this show we’re talking about Eidos Montreal’s “Deus Ex: Human Revolution”.  Prequel to a game many remember fondly, does Human Revolution stack up to the original, or will it rest among the ranks of the ugly step-child Invisible War?  Listen in and find out!

Also, for those that aren’t following the Steam Holiday Sale, the PC version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution is currently 66% off!  That makes it the low, low price of only $16.99.

We have Rob, a.k.a. LiquidRain, of ColonyofGamers and Rainwave.cc joining us this time as we take a look at Valkyria Chronicles.  This tactical RPG developed by Sega WOW for the PS3 has the entire crew blown away as Jeremy actually enjoys it.  Is this sure to mean doom for those that normally like eastern titles, and why is Ryan raging about not making the grade?  Tune in to find out!

This time on the FUDcast we’re talking about Re-Logic’s Terraria.  An indie game with raw adventure and exploring, we talk about how you fold narrative into a randomly generated world, whether the term “sandbox” has really been used correctly in the industry, and whether or not this is just a Minecraft clone.  Be sure to tune in to this episode as we’ve got Curt back in the hosting seat, Jeremy is full of rage, and to top it off, Drew invokes Faxanadu.

The FUDcast has been on a long break due to PAX, but we’re back!  This time we’re taking a look at Arrowhead Game Studios’ PC title Magicka.  Tune in as we cross the streams, blow each other to bits, and listen to Drew wax nostalgic about games we’ve never played (okay, maybe I haven’t played).

Not our longest show by a long shot, but we’ll be back in two weeks with Terraria.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled game bitching session to bring you our special episode starring the Colony of Gamers 2011 PAX Media team.  Join Curt, Ryan, Jeremy, Scott, and Jason as they go over their best in show, what they want to see out of the show going forward and what really brings them to PAX (a hint: it has nothing to do with the games).  A special thanks to Jeremy for taking care of recording for us and for the community as a whole for your support!

This time on the F.U.D.Cast we’re prowling our way through Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham Asylum.  Despite PC availability, our cast strayed from the norm this time with almost everyone playing on a console.  Listen in and find out what our highs and lows for this title were, and how we thought it stacked up as a comic adaptation from a relatively unproven studio.

The full crew returns to the FUDcast for People Can Fly’s “Bulletstorm”.  It’s been a while since the entire crew has been together and it seems like the time away has brought some strong opinions along – stay tuned to this episode for quite the argument when it comes to Bulletstorm feeling as if it should’ve been a multiplayer co-op game all-along.  We also welcome Jeremy from 1989, as he calls in due to his wonderful internet.  Does this game stand up to other AAA Epic Games titles, or does this one fall short of the goal?  What about the juvenile language?  Is there a need for it in a game such as this?  Find out the thoughts on this and more as the FUDcast rolls on.

Arachraphobiacs beware, as this episode of the FUDCast will leave millions of spiders crawling over the listeners’ skin.  We’re talking about Limbo, an indie XBLA title developed by Playdead Studios.  Listen in to find out what the guys think of a game with no dialogue, no music, and no gameplay hand-holding.

Editor’s Note: Sorry folks, but there’s no closing music this time.  You try and come up with music for a game which HAS NO MUSIC.

Join the crew as we take a nostalgic journey into gaming’s past with 3D Dot Game Heroes.  With nods to games like Zelda, Demon’s souls etc,  Silicon Studio is certainly banking on your love of the past. Are the references to games of old and charming humor enough to make up for decades old game play?  Why was Ryan one of a kind in this episode?  We answer these questions in the newest episode of the FUDcast.

The F.U.D.Cast returns with new internet entertainments!  This time we take you to the far reaches of the galaxy.  Why was the inventory system such a nightmare? Why does the game eerily remind me of Babylon 5? Mass Effect is certainly one of the most interesting role playing games in recent years, but does it suceed on all fronts? Join us as we tackle these questions and more.

The F.U.D.Cast ends the season break by beginning with Crystal Dynamics isometric re-imagining of their heroine Lara Croft in “Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light”.  Does it stand up to the original Tomb Raider series?  Why did they leave the Tomb Raider name off?  What was there really to fear?  What started as a single-player experience ends up being a very solid multiplayer experience.  So join the F.U.D.Cast crew as they ride into another year on the backs of Totec’s Shield and Spears – and come out quite satisfied by the experience.

The FUDCast takes a turn to the past as we return from the holidays to play Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption.  From odd aiming mechanics to having issues learning how to drive a four-horse carriage, the FUDCast crew had it’s fair share of struggles as they played through the spaghetti western.  Join us as we wrap up the end of our second season by travelling through the American Southwest (and Mexico, for what seemed like forever) to protect our families.  Was the game worth the many accolades that it received in the previous year?  That and more as the FUDCast returns!

The F.U.D.Cast dons their slave headbands as they jump into the quite beautiful post-apocalyptic world of Ninja Theory’s “Enslaved: Odyssey to the West”.  Our usual crew sans one plays through the PS3 and Xbox 360 editions of the game as they run through a rather lose interpretation of the Chinese story “Journey to the West”.  Somehow, we have to imagine this wasn’t the story they had in mind – but in the end, Ninja Theory comes up with a winner.  For once – we enjoy the visuals of a world destroyed and push through to figure out what really is going on with this Pyramid group.  So once again, we journey on into the insane world of the F.U.D.Cast, dragging yet another game along for the ride.

The F.U.D.Cast moves on into the digitized world of Monolith Studio’s Tron 2.0.  For a game that lasted a decent amount of time, with actors that fit the game properly, a story that worked out well, and… well, as of Tron Legacy, never really happened.  Does a seven year-old game hold up with today’s video cards and graphics in games, or is this a dud comparatively?  Can Drew figure out the “Random” platforming that happens later in the game?  Should platforming even be in a first-person shooter?  These questions and many more on this episode of the F.U.D.Cast.

This week’s F.U.D.Cast explores the darker side of novel writing with Remedy Studios’ Alan Wake.  This is also another crossover episode this week as we invite Mike (otherwise known as Laughing Penguin) off his normal gig with The Comics Archive and joins our usual crew sans one.  So did we like it?  Did we call everyone on our Verizon phones, talking about the jaunts we took through the Washington wilderness in the night, with flashlights powered by Energizer batteries?  Did we like the ride in our Ford and Lincoln vehicles?  Were the advertisements just a bit much?  How about feeling like we were playing a scene right out of Left 4 Dead 2?  All that and more in this week’s episode of the F.U.D.Cast.

This episode of the F.U.D.Cast we’re talking about Naughty Dog’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Does the game deliver the the pulp adventure goodness or do we get bogged down in the Spaniard/Nazi monsters? Is Nolan North in everything? Does Scott “psykoboy2″ drool more than expected over the game? We answer these questions and more within.

Dracula rises again as we play Konami’s masterpiece genre-redefining “Metroidvania” game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  Only one of our crew hadn’t played the game before – Jeremy is the new player to this game, and comes out relatively pleased with what he had gotten out of the game.  We also have another guest that joined us for this show, Nate, better known as “Shodan2020″ schools us on facts about the Castlevania games – the guy is a pro with this stuff.  So, enough talk about this show – have at you!

Our first dual-game show brings back a familiar guest from previous shows, Kyle, otherwise known as Wackman3000 on Colony of Gamers joins us for easily one of our favorite series – and we never even felt duped when Valve brought out the sequel – Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2.  While forums were ablaze with commentary that this was nothing more than a cash grab by Valve and that it was nothing more than an update that should be free, we found ourselves quite to the contrary – this being an entirely new feeling game to us.  We also discuss timelines, the new upcoming DLC (releasing October 5th) and what just might happen when the new special infected decide they want to rain on our escape attempts in the updated “No Mercy” campaign that’s also coming to Left 4 Dead 2.  So join Curt, Javier, Ryan, Jeremy and Drew as we discuss those things and more on this episode of the F.U.D.Cast.

This week we have another guest that joins us as we hack, slash, and randomly bloody things on our way through Bioware’s Dragon Age: Origins.  Glenn, otherwise known as Shrinn joins us for this show, which also marks the return of the limp-wristed god-fearing Curt as well.  We unlock mysteries of this rather grand adventure, step between what seems like two completely different game engines early-on, and overall come out feeling like this is easily one of the best western RPG games to date.  Not to say it didn’t have it’s shortcomings, we delve into issues we had in-game, whether or not time these days should be a reviewer’s factor toward this sort of game, as well as having issues just getting in to enjoying the game.  So join us – these things and much more discussed on this week’s F.U.D.Cast.

This episode of the FUDCast we’re taking on Sony Computer Entertainment’s PS2 classic, the original God of War. Unfortunately we’re a man down this week as Curt is “slaving over a hot server.” Was it really rage against Quick Time Events? Could he not handle the insidious block puzzles? Or was he just too limp-wristed to kill a god? We may not answer any of those questions, but we do promise to leave you with a reason to never eat oatmeal cookies again.

We’re back on our normal schedule as this week we get to play Chair Entertainment’s “Shadow Complex” for the Xbox Live Arcade.  A great take on the “metroidvania” games, this one would be better off with a take on Super Metroid’s opener: “The Last Liberal is in Captivity.  The Nation is at peace”.  Political arguments aside, for a game that doesn’t present a great amount of story to the player, a solid experience, live leaderboards, and a fantastic return to gameplay of old really drove this game home for the crew.  We tangent (as always) on the Metroid of old, the changes good and bad, and debate whether or not the hand-holding experience the “metroidvania” games give us these days make the game too easy.  So, join us – as we play through our first Xbox Live Arcade game and come out feeling refreshed with our experience.

After an extended break due to 2/5 of the cast being at E3, the F.U.D.Cast returns with our take on Sam Fisher’s third game, Ubisoft’s Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory.  While it was a game that was mostly liked by the crew, some of us felt that a game like Metal Gear might be a better entry in the stealth genre.  We also muse on our favorite takedowns, the need to interrogate everyone (one of our members is very OCD when it comes to games like this), and whether or not this game takes itself too seriously.  So join Curt, Javier, Ryan, Jeremy and Drew as we continue down the spiral that is the F.U.D.Cast.