Kombo Breaker #60: Garth Chateau Talks Addiction and PopCap Games

Number 60 is all up ons us! This week's episode of Kombo Breaker features a previous guest on talking about the recent adventures of PopCap Games.

From Facebook domination to future plans for the Wii, Garth Chateau of PopCap came on to tell us everything he could. Not only that, but Garth also takes time to rattle of a few absolutely absurd stats about Bejeweled Blitz. You'll have to tune in to find out more.

Make sure you do the usual and email us with questions and comments at kombobreaker@kombo.com. Be sure to subscribe on iTunes and leave us a review!

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Kombo Breaker Special Edition - BioShock 2 Developer Conference

Our own Matt Green got word from up on high of a little conference call with the developers of BioShock 2. He dialed in, of course.

But he went above and beyond the call of duty and recorded over an hour of tasty BioShock 2 tidbits. Story decisions, character investigation, game elements and more are all discussed within.

So, BioShock fans, strap in and enjoy.

The regular, weekly episode of Kombo Breaker will be up soon after this one.

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Kombo Breaker #59: Mass Effect 2 Special with Alexander Sliwinski

This week's Kombo Breaker features Mass Effect 2 and Alexander Sliwinski from Joystiq. Come and geek out with us for one of this year's first Game of the Year contenders...yeah, I said it. And it's only January.

Brad has OCD, Joey can't read, Matt's never played Mass Effect and Alexander has no idea why he agreed to come on the show again (and something about "asparagus"). It's another wonderful week here with the Kombo Breaker team.

Subscribe on iTunes. Leave us some feedback as a review there or in the comments here. We're still looking for a female co-host (though we've got some solid applicants already), so email us with stuff related to that or whatever ye fancy at kombobreaker@kombo.com. And, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@kombobreaker).

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Kombo Breaker #58: Hey, let's catch up... (HELP WANTED)

A little bit of a break before we hit our stride with guests concerning the upcoming host of games, this week the crew gets together to talk about...well...ourselves. We roll with two topics per person; a little "what we've been playing" and then "what we're looking forward to." Feels good to catch up, right?

If you're more into guests, make sure you tune in to at least the first 5 minutes of the show as our own Matt Green announces a few of our upcoming friends. The next few weeks should be glorious.

In other news, if you're a female gamer interested in joining the show as a permanent co-host, please check out our ad. We're looking for some legitimately awesome people, if you fit the bill you should drop us a line! (Contact info at the tail end of the show)

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Kombo Breaker #57: Phil Kollar Joins Us to Talk This Decade in Gaming

The past few weeks we've been running our year-end analysis of each of the three console makers. Since we figured we couldn't get enough of our own broad, general sweeping statements about the industry, we decided to go through the biggest events in gaming during the 2000s.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 56: Sony's Year in Review

It's been a long time coming, but we've finally been able to get together and record the Sony edition of our Year in Review episodes. This, of course, rounds out the big three publishers.

We'll talk good moves, bad moves, price cuts and handhelds here in this entirely Sony-centric episode. Tune in to hear what we think worked (and didn't) for Sony in 2009.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 55: Microsoft: Year in Review/Looking Ahead With Team XBox's Brent Soboleski

Alright folks, strap in for week two of our console rundown as we lok at the best and worst Microsoft had to offer in 2009. Brad, Matt and Dan are joined by Brent Soboleski of TeamXbox to talk all the highs and lows of this year, as well as gushing about what we're looking forward to for next year. Does the panel think Natal has what it takes to revolutionize gaming? Has Tim Schaefer officially lost his mind? Will BioShock 2 be a blockbuster or a flop? Did the Rogue Warrior show up at some point and kill everyone without leaving behind a trace of evidence? You're going to have to listen to find out!

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 54: Nintendo: The Year in Review/Looking Ahead With Nintendo World Report's Jonathan Metts

Well the year is coming to an end and we figured it was the perfect time to take a look back at each of the big three and discuss the best and worst of games to come out, along with a quick preview of what's to come in 2010.

Our first episode takes a look at Nintendo and we're lucky to have Nintendo World Report's Jonathan Metts join us to discuss the Wii and DS. We speculate on the forthcoming Zelda game, trash the vitality sensor A LOT and Dan gets ridiculed for his love of obscure games.

Next week we'll be talking Sony and bringing along another industry expert for the ride. Make sure to let us know your favorite games for each console this year and let us know what you're looking forward to next year.

If you haven't subscribed on iTunes yet, go ahead and do so, and while you're there please review the podcast. Your honest opinion matters to us. You can also follow us on Twitter(@kombobreaker) and nag us 140 characters at a time.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 53: Dan "Shoe" Hsu Clears the Electronic Gaming Air; Saboteur Non-Demure?

The KB crew is extremely fortunate to have Dan "Shoe" Hsu join us to discuss Bitmob's (his current venture) exciting partnership with a newly resurrected friend of gamers near and far, Electronic Gaming Monthly. We then take a tangent of sorts and lay out our thoughts on the Saboteur DLC news that everyone was talking about this week.

The next few weeks are going to be really special episodes. Make sure to keep up with us to find out just what is going on.

We know you trust us, but make sure to send us any suggestions you have for guests or topics.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 52: NSMB Wii and CheapyD (Yeah It Rhymes)

What better way to give thanks than with your friends on Kombo Breaker? We're posting just in time for Turkey Day and it's the perfect compliment to your momma's sweet potato casserole. The legendary CheapyD of Cheap Ass Gamer was kind enough to join us and give you guys the low down on the best games and best gaming deals of the holiday season. Joey and Matt also get in depth on, hands-down, the Wii's biggest holiday title this year: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

We won't catch you guys until December, but make sure to send us any suggestions you have for guests or topics. Also make sure to check us out over on Twitter (@kombobreaker).

Oh, and two words of advice for tomorrow: Gorge yourselves.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 51: Garnett Lee Talks Modern Warfare With Us

We weathered the storm of putting together an explosive 50th episode and are proud to keep the streak of outstanding guests alive by having Garnett Lee of GameFly Media join us.

You might not have heard, but the biggest game of the year released this week and we meticulously prod it and poke it with our opinions. Garnett lends his weighty impressions to the discussion and offers up his own idea of what game may give MW2 a run for its money.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 50: We celebrate 50 episodes with John Davison (Gamepro), Jeff and Dan (Totally Rad Show), and James Stevenson (Insomniac Game

We promised #50 would be crazy and we feel like we delivered. Nearly two and a half times longer than our recent episodes, this behemoth may seem daunting at first, but we promise you'll want to sit through the whole episode. If for some horrible reason you refuse to do so, we're happy to provide the times for each guest so you can get your fix.

John Davison kicks off our first segment discussing his transition from whattheyplay.com to Editor in Chief of Gamepro Magazine. I know, I know, Gamepro does still exist. John Davison explains why you should care now that he's at the helm. We're convinced!

Totally Rad Show's Jeff Cannata and Dan Trachtenberg join us around the 40 minute mark to launch into a discussion about movie games and moreso game movies, especially in light of the fact that the Prince of Persia trailer has just been released. These guys know their stuff and it was a blast to have Jeff explain to us how Doom the movie could've been good.

Finally James Stevenson, Community Manager over at Insomniac Games, sits down with us to talk about their fantastic new release, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. The interview starts around the 1:47 mark and delves into a lot of the design choices for the game, and he gives the slightest hint of what might come in the future.

It's hard to believe we've actually made 50 of these things. We just want to offer our sincere thanks to anyone who's been listening since the beginning, all the way to anyone who might've joined us even just last week. We're really privileged to be able to spend time with people from every corner of the gaming realm and hope to only bring you more guests that you (and we) love.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 49: David Ellis of 1Up & Video Games (Go Figure...)

This is the one before we go crazy with #50. Episode #49 is a fantastic conversation with David Ellis of 1UP.

For those that don't know, David recently took the reigns of 1UP's new podcast, 4 Guys 1UP, in the wake of Garnett Lee moving on to an opportunity with GameFly Media. Make sure you check out their show! As of writing this preview up they've only published their first episode; no time like the present to become a fan! David took some time out of his schedule to hang out and talk games and podcasting with the Kombo Breaker team.

Listen in to hear us talk about BioShock 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Guitar Hero, Sean being awful at Modern Warfare and Matt avoiding dream-shattering defeat in the broken(?) Need for Speed: Shift.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 48: NPD Day, Julien-K, and Uncharted 2 Soiree

We have a triple threat for you on this week's episode of Kombo Breaker. First off, Brad and Matt are joined by analyst Scott Steinberg to discuss the NPD sales numbers for September. Then we catch Brandon Belsky of the band Julien-K during a break from touring to talk about his gaming habits and the band's experience composing the soundtrack for the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game. Finally, Kombo's own Eric Frederiksen joins the fun to discuss the fun times and technical marvels that make up developer Naughty Dog's latest PlayStation 3 adventure, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. There's something for everyone in this week's show.

Take note, Halo 3: ODST fanatics. Kombo and Julien-K are teaming up for a special Gamer Night in which all of you out there can have a crack at playing against Brandon Belsky and any other members of the band that may show up via Xbox Live. Listen to the show for all of the details including the date and times. Meanwhile, we want to hear from you! Send us your comments about the show to kombobreaker@kombo.com or hit us via our Twitter account at @KomboBreaker. Until next time...

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 47: Phil Kollar and Dave Rudden Join Us

We're all acutely aware of how often the landscape of gaming journalism changes, evolves, and sometimes it even starts to erode. We're fortunate to have a couple guys in a much better position to talk about the subject join us this week. Phillip Kollar, associate editor at Game Informer and former editor at 1Up sits in, along with Dave Rudden, News Editor at longstanding gaming journalism staple, GamePro.

What does the future look like, especially for two of the last-standing print magazines for the gaming industry? Check out another awesome episode of Kombo Breaker.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 46: Tony Hawk: Ride!

How about this time we talk about Tony Hawk: Ride? Okay, we weren't really asking... we're telling you. Kombo Breaker is back from two weeks in the nether to give you an interview with Josh Tsui, President of Robomodo. Robomodo, if you didn't know, is the developer behind Activision's Tony Hawk: Ride.

Josh talked at length about the Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard, the need to refresh an old series and one of the office folk that can't help but stand on the board whilst posing like he has little T-Rex arms. Which is more shocking, that image or the length of that last run-on sentence? You decide!

Join us for another episode of Kombo Breaker. The audio gets a little scratchy at times, but those interested in Tony Hawk: Ride need to listen.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 45: Heavy Rain Interview

This week's show is all about Heavy Rain. Sony Producer Petro Piaseckyj joins us to talk about the project. We cover everything from gameplay, characters, script size (2000 flippin' pages) and all that's in between.

If you're a PS3 owner or you plan to pick up the Slim, this episode is for you. Heavy Rain will be hitting retail at the onset of next year, download this episode for a taste of what's to come.

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 44: Muramasa and NPDs!

Join the argument, friends. The NPDs were released this week and the PS3 is gaining momentum. Is it enough to overtake the Wii this month? We talk about it. Give this show a listen and then speak out in the comments.

We also talk Beatles and Muramasa, two of some fantastic titles hitting this holiday. So pull up a chair!

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Kombo Breaker - Episode 43: Berghammer Meets Breaker

We got caught up in the Labor Day weekend hysteria and were late coming with this week's episode, but late is better than never right? Besides, this means the wait to next week's episode is that much shorter.

We were extremely excited to have Billy Berghammer of G4 join us this week to talk about the network, their newly launched site companion, the slew of conventions he's bounced to and from all summer, and more. We also spent the first portion of the show with Matt giving us a rundown on why Batman: Arkhum Asylum is easily the best Batman game ever.

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Kombo Breaker 42: Just following (Aplha) Protocol

Dan's absent this week but in his stead we welcomed Matthew Rorie from Obsidian Entertainment, aka the people that are bringing you Alpha Protocol. We chatted about how to talk to the ladies, why you're not allowed to play as a lady and oh so much more. James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer are all listening to this week's show, and so should you.

And once you've gotten your fill of Kombo Breaker goodness please head over to iTunes and write up a review of the show. Tell us we're awesome, tell us we suck, tell us your secret recipe for duck ala o'range, the important thing is you're giving us feedback! Also, if you're one of those tweeting types then please follow the show (@KomboBreaker). That's the place where we announce new guests, solicit questions from the fans and let you know when the show goes live.

So hurry and check out this week's show before this post self-destructs...

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