Podcast Unlocked
Podcast Unlocked Episode 178: Revealing Our Game of the Year Votes

IGN's Game of the Year has been announced. We discuss how we cast our individual votes. Plus: a big MOBA hits Xbox One, Forza Motorsport 6 gets announced...in Detroit, Microsoft may be bringing back a "beloved" strategy game, Xbox One wins an Emmy(?!), and more!

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_178.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 9:40pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 177: Let's Buy the Blinx Trademark!

As Microsoft abandons their trademark on show favorite Blinx: The Timesweeper, we discuss what we'd do with it if we bought it (which we might). Plus: what does the Xbox One going back up to $400 mean for 2015? Will Xbox Avatars ever matter on Xbox One? Will Far Cry 5 pit you against...vampires? And what will Xbox One developers do with more power thanks to the newest XDK tools? Oh, and we give a warm Podcast Unlocked welcome to new IGN host Max Scoville. Say hi, won't you?

Thanks to Walter Hill (@walt_disknee) for the new outro music for 2015, and Ryan Quintal for the new logo!

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_177.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:54pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 176: The Outtakes of 2014

We'll be up front: you might not even like this episode. It's a collection of random, out-of-context outtakes from the past year of Xbox podcasting. Strange stories. Off-topic conversations. Alex Solomita's 15 minutes of fame on ESPN. On the other hand, some of you might think it's hilarious. So give it a listen. It's only 16 minutes long. Then let us know what you think! If you find it boring and/or dumb, we won't do it next year. But hopefully you'll get some enjoyment out of it. And besides, the alternative was to not have any show at all this week. :-)

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_176.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 3:01pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 175: All Halo Breaks Loose

"I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

We'd planned to be on holiday break this week, but too much Halo happened! First, 343 Industries announced that Halo 3: ODST will be brought to Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 1080p/60fps – for free! And that an Anniversary remake of "Relic" would be added to MCC for free as the seventh Halo 2 Anniversary map. On top of that, we spent all weekend playing the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta during an early access period. Needless to say, we have a lot to say on all of this. Join us for the next 70 minutes or so, won't you?

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_175.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 7:43pm EDT

As the year winds to a close, Microsoft celebrates a November NPD victory. What about December? What about the future? Will they put the system's price back to $400? We discuss. Plus: the big annual year-end Xbox games sale has begun, Grand Theft Auto V finally delivers a peek at online heists, remasters get an ultimatum from us, and more. Oh, and THANK YOU for listening this year. We appreciate your support more than you know!

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_174.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 2:35pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 173: We'll Miss You, Street Fighter

Sony strikes back, securing Street Fighter V exclusively after Microsoft bagged Rise of the Tomb Raider. We discuss the situation, as well as what other games this could happen to. Plus: after Sony's PlayStation Experience Event, should Microsoft do something similar? Also: Adr1ft gets announced, The Witcher 3 gets delayed, and much more. Most importantly, we welcome back Jared Petty!

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_173.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:15pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 172: Tales from the Black Friday

We catch up on everything we saw and played over the Thanksgiving break, including passionate (spoiler-free) discussions about Sunset Overdrive, Tales from the Borderlands, Game of Thrones, Limbo, and more. Plus: Xbox One's Black Friday success and whether or not the $350 price point will revert back to $400, Xbox's neverending struggles in Japan, hackers targeting Xbox Live, and much more.

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_172.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:22pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 171: Dreaming of Half-Life 3

As Ryan's old friend and podcasting partner Dan Amrich sits in to discuss Rocksmith 2014 for Xbox One (which Dan now works on), the crew discusses their thoughts on Xbox One's first birthday and the big Microsoft giveaway that goes with it. Plus: Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's campaign, Dumb & Dumber To, game show video games (like 1 vs. 100!), Titanfall's just-announced Deluxe Edition, and more!

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_171.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:14pm EDT

What should be a celebration of one of the biggest weeks of the year for Xbox games is instead clouded by rough launches for both Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Assassin's Creed Unity, as well as online issues for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. We discuss what the root of the cause might be, as well as what recourse gamers have to combat Day One woes. Plus: Halo 5 multiplayer impressions, Just Cause 3 gets announced, Game of Thrones game details from Telltale, Phil Spencer sees a new game at Rare, and more.

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_170.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:17pm EDT

Podcast Unlocked Episode 169: Cheeseburger in Paradise

The world's #1 Xbox podcast crew discusses the significance of the Xbox One price drop, and there's a *slight* chance we get derailed into an In-N-Out vs. Shake Shack vs. Five Guys cheeseburger conversation. Also: Destiny 2 gets confirmed, and we discuss what we want out of the sequel. Also don't miss our Grand Theft Auto V new-gen chat about the new first-person view, and when we might see a slimmed-down refresh of the Xbox One.

Direct download: Podcast_Unlocked_Episode_169.mp3
Category:Podcast Unlocked -- posted at: 8:35pm EDT