by Russ Walsh

On a very special episode of Barrel Roll! – A Video Game Podcast, Jonah has finally finished playing Mass Effect. Welcome to 2008, ass!

Jesse is still trying to finish Sir Togsef, the off-the-wall juggle-combo-tastic RPG for the DS. Wesley, once again guest hosting, has been fending off zombies invading his garden in Popcaps’ new “Plants VS Zombies”. It turns out those guys know how to make an addictive game. Meanwhile Brittany has picked up Personal Cooking Trainer on the DS, which is an electronic cook book, and not a game at all! She also started playing Odin Sphere again.

Then we get into the old news, where, thanks to volume 20 of Nintendo Power and a 1998 copy of EGM, we re-live some gaming rumors of yesteryear. Did that New Kids on the Block game ever come out?

In the real news Jesse reveals that he will be doing a song for the Mega Man 9 remix album for OverClocked ReMix. Brittany and Jonah have officially founded the JPAG World of Warcraft Guild, Blueberry Muffin Tops, Monster Hunter 3 and Tatsunoko VS Capcom have been confirmed for the US, and much more!

“Let’s Talk About Stuff”, the worst named podcast segment ever returns, where Jesse tells us about some cool ROM Hacks he has been playing.

We also extended our contest from last episode, so be sure to enter here.

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Show Links:
Mega Man 9 Remix Project
The Legend of Zelda: Parallel Worlds
Rockman 2: Minimum
Rockman 5: Wily’s Dream Space
Monster Hunter 3 Video
JPAG

On a very special eleventh episode of “Barrel Roll! – A Video Game Podcast”, Jesse and Jonah tells us the wonders of “Excite Bots: Trick Racing” for the Wii. It’s not just racing, it’s sandwich making. “Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time” turns out not to just have a ludicrously long title, but to be the FFCC game we’ve been waiting for. As it turns out “Rock Revolution” is not worth the $10 price point it has been discounted to. Orange Box and Steam are both awesome, but you already knew that, and it turns out we like the PSP… in theory.

In the news we talk about “Fallout: New Vegas”, Kojima guaging the interest in a possible Zone of the Enders 3, and much more. Wait… A “King of Fighters” Shmup? What the crap?

“Let’s Talk About Stuff” was co-opted from our news story about the recently announced Lego Rock Band and our feelings on the subject. These mostly fall apart into a nostalgic Lego love fest.

All this and much more on the latest installment of our podshow.

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Show Links:
Custom Costumes by Karissa Rangel
Mode 7 album by Main Finger
That Youtube vid of “Passion”
JPAG WOW Guild Thread
Tell Kojima you want Zone of the Enders 3

Giveaway Update

It turns out we were wrong about needing to register to make a post where we can still see your contact email adress, so go comment on the last episode to enter our Emerald City ComiCon swag giveaway!

"Mario Tractors"

On a very special tenth episode of “Barrel Roll! – A Video Game Podcast”, we are once again joined by our good friend Wesley Johnson from InsulinFunk.net

We are also having a contest, the details of which are found at the end of the episode. More info is located after the break.

What we’ve been playing this week includes “Dragon Quest 4″, “Scene It? Box Office Smash!”, “HAWX”, the Wipeout HD patch, The Pitt (Fallout 3) and more.

Our NEWS section is very Wii focused, with discussion of the Wii Motion Plus on Virtua Tennis, Giga Mac in the new Punch-Out! and Konami’s new Wii-Ware racing game.

In “Let’s Talk About Stuff”, Patapon 2 and the future of the disc-less game system is pondered. Jesse also relates his experience at Sakuracon.

Finally, in “Movie Time”, several of us subjected ourselves to “Dragonball: Evolution”.

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Show Links:
Jesse’s Sakuracon Pics
That Sakuracon Commercial
Insulin Funk Interview with Kieron Gillon
Space Quest Retrospective Outline

GIVEAWAY!

We put together a bunch of stuff we picked up from Emerald City ComiCon, including some posters, comics, pins, and more! At the end of episode 10, we tell you what to post in the comments section of this post. We will randomly pick a winner from all those that correctly post in regards to the contest in the comment section below. One entry per person, please.

Questions? Email us at podcast [at] wingdamage.com.

"Pure Dedication To The Craft"

Justin McElroy is the Reviews Editor and a writer for popular gaming news site Joystiq.com, and has done freelance work for several publications over the years. He is also one of the hosts of the Joystiq Podcast, and is active in it’s fangroup the JPAG (Joystiq Podcast Appreciation Group).

Mr. McElroy was graceful enough to do an interview with WingDamage.com so we could get some insight into his work, and his life as a gamer.

Jonah: What got you into gaming? Any particular game or system that really peaked your interest?

Justin: I’m one of those lifelong guys, Atari, NES, the whole bit. I think maybe the closest I got to a lull was the few confusing pre-teen years before the PSOne was launched. I’d say that’s the system that made me … well, more into video games than my friends were. That’s where it all went wrong, I guess.

Jonah: Did you always want to write about games, or are you more of a writer who also happens to play games?

Justin: My degree is actually in acting and directing, though I’d been writing about games since I was about 12 years old. I’ve had some more respectable-type news paper gigs (beat reporter, news editor, etc.) but I was always writing about games.

Jonah: I know at least one of your brothers also writes for Joystiq. Has gaming always been a part of your family? Does your wife get into gaming?

Justin: It’s a big deal for Griffin and I, and it was always a big thing for us growing up. My dad always played with us and Griffin actually learned to read while we played JRPGs. My wife Sydnee is a few months shy of being a doctor, so she doesn’t have a whole lot of free time. That said, she enjoys the occasional puzzle or music game as much as everybody else.

Jonah: How did the Joystiq podcast come about, and how did you get involved?

Justin: The podcast had actually been around for 10 episodes before I got on. The thing is that those 10 episodes took them around 4 months to release, so they needed someone to sort of set it up and make it more regular. I basically shoehorned my way into it with begging, and eventually I took over the producing duties to keep things off my boss Chris’ plate.

Jonah: How has your roll changed now that you are the reviews editor at Joystiq?

Justin: I’ve got a lot less free time to just write, which is what I like the best. I’ve also had a lot of trouble convincing PR people that they need to send product our way, in part, I suspect, because we don’t put numbers on our reviews and can’t effect Metacritic. A lot more of my day than I’d like is spent trying to line up product. That said, I think reviews bring a lot to the site, and I’m still really glad we’re putting more of a focus on them.

Jonah: If you could change one thing in your industry (writing about games), what would it be?

Justin: If I could change one thing, it would be the attitude of the PR and marketing side that they’re the gatekeepers of information. On the one hand, I think they’ve discouraged original reporting by being so tight-lipped all the time. Also, access to the actual people who make games is so rare, and I think that could bring a lot to games coverage.

Jonah: How do you really feel about the JPAG? I mean, that Wesley guy is kind of shady…

Justin: The JPAG, the fact that that community exists, is one of the things I’m proudest of in my whole life. The knowledge that people have made real connections, lasting friendships, because of some dumb show I do means more to me than they suspect. Also, Jonah, the power. THE POWER, she’s intoxicating.

I’d like to say a huge thank you to Mr. McElroy for taking the time to talk to use today. You can check out his work at on the site and on the podcast at Joystiq.com.

"A Luke and His Blob"

On a very special fourth episode of Barrel Roll, we discuss “Eternal Darkness”, “Rogue Galaxy”, “Robo Ninja Haggleman 3″, “Castle of Shikigami III” and “Dragon Quest 5″ in the “What We’ve Been Playing” segment.

In news, Jonah tells us all about the release of his first trade paperback, which can be found for sale at Indy Planet. We also talk about our anticipation for “King of Fighters XII” and “BlazBlue”, the upcoming Wii remake of “A Boy and His Blob”, “Little Big Planet” on PSP, and what we think may be Capcom’s new announcement that will apparently “make Wii owner’s happy.

After the break, we breifly give our thoughts on the “Watchmen” movie, talk about the most popular post of the week, and in a new segment cleverly title “Let’s Talk About Stuff”, the new Play on Wii line of games is discussed.

Oh, and that picture of Jesse dressed as Dr. Wiley can be found on his flickr page.

*EDIT* – The episode of The JPAG Show that I was on is now live.

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