Nov 17

Platforms Episode 6 – Decapitation!

PlatformsJosh Philpott, Dave Kozicki and Grant Noy (with David McVay).

Platforms is a gamers podcast by gamers. The podcast is recorded live on Ustream with chat interaction so come and join the fun as your host candidly discuss the latest in the gaming world. The podcast is uncensored, explicit, honest and very non ‘PC’. We start this week with the trailer for ‘Brutal Legend’.

News This Week: More on the Xbox Bans, Microsoft releases an over priced N class wireless adaptor for the 360, ‘Modern Warfare 2’ breaks entertainment records, Facebook comes to the Ps3 and are you ready to join an AdHoc Party?

An amazing ingame video from Modern Warfare 2 was shown during the live show, if you didn’t see the live show you can find the video here: http://www.vg247.com/2009/11/14/check-out-this-lucky-knife-throw-in-modern-warfare-2/#more-67395

New Games Discussed: ‘Assassins Creed 2’, ‘Little Big Planet’ for PSP, ‘Band Hero’ and ‘Lego Indiana Jones 2 : The Adventure Continues’.

Reviews of the week: This week Josh and Dave review Tim Schafer’s ‘Brutal Legend’. Great visuals and some great moments but not a perfect game. Grant leads a review of the new Mario game ‘Super Mario Bros. Wii’. If you love Mario, you’ll have insane fun with this.

This episode carries an explicit tag due to frequent coarse language.

Listen or download it here or subscribe to it on iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Platforms is brought to you by listeners, just like you. Thanks for your contributions. If you wish to make a contribution, go to the “Support Us” link above.

Just a reminder, if you have any comments about the episodes please leave them in the comments field below or email us using the contact link above (Make sure you use the word ‘Platforms’ in the subject line). If you are an iTunes user, please leave a review as we are trying to get on the featured list and every review helps. Your comments (good or bad) help us improve the show. You can contact us here.

The Platforms Podcast is recorded live on Ustream every Monday Evening 8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (UTC+11). If you still just want to listen to the audio podcast, it will go out as normal on Tuesday. If you missed the live show, you can watch the replay all week at https://geekactually.com/platforms.

Nov 17

South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson Speaks

Michael AtkinsonKotaku has a very interesting letter online. South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson was sent a letter by one of their readers (Robert) earlier this year asking about the R18+ rating for games in Australia. He was recently sent a reply from Mr. Atkinson and Kotaku has it.

If you follow the link above you can read highlights from Mr. Atkinson’s letter, however I suggest you read the whole letter for full impact. You can download the scan of the letter here in PDF format.

Some of the juicier highlights include:

“What the present law does is keep the most extreme material off the shelves. It is true that this restricts adult liberty to a small degree, however, I am prepared to accept this infringement in the circumstances.”

I don’t know about you but I am not prepared to accept this infringement. Another highlight is:

“Classification of electronic games is very different from the classification of film. In cinemas, the age of movie-goers can be regulated… Rising game and console sales make it clear that this is a growing area that needs careful regulation, even more so than cinemas and private D.V.D. hire and purchase. Access to electronic games, once in the home, cannot be policed and therefore the games are easily accesible to children.”

Do you think anyone has told the OFLC this? Games carry the same classification system as movies and if you download the guidelines from the OFLC, games and movies are referred to side by side. His argument is flawed because what stops a child from watching the R18+ DVD once it is in the home? Once again I come back to the same argument that I always stand by, hold the parents accountable! Once it is in the home it is the parent’s responsibility to protect their children, not the government’s.

We will discuss this letter in the Geek Actually Podcast this week (ep 61 21st Nov 2009). I’d love to hear what you think about it, comment below.

Nov 14

Geek Actually Episode 60 – Leash and Muzzle

New Geek Actually Cover ArtHosts: David McVay, Josh Philpott and Dave Kozicki are joined by special guest Natali Del Conte (co-host of Buzz Out Loud)

The Geek Actually Podcast is recorded live on Ustream with chat interaction.

This week we have a very special guest, Natali Del Conte. Natali is a journalist for CBS and CNet and co-host of The Buzz Out Loud Podcast. Unfortunately, due to the time difference, we had to record Natali earlier in the day and her segment was played back during the show. She offered some interesting insights into our Great Internet Tech War of 2009 theory. Just a note, we had a pretty shaky Skype connection so please be patient with the audio quality. I’d like to again dedicate this week’s show to the fine group of guys over at the Reel Junkies podcast which you can find on iTunes or at weekendronin.com. Check out their film podcast, I (David McVay) listen to it every week and they always entertain.

Game News This Week: ‘Modern Warfare 2’ breaks sales records, Project Natal gets a proposed release date and we have a little more info on the Xbox Live bannings.

The Great Internet Tech War of 2009: The Verizon Attack on AT&T continues and a Microsoft UK manager tells us what most people have always suspected – Windows 7 is based on the Mac OS!

Natali Del Conti’s segment is here. We talk tech, Aliens and Avatar.

Tech News This Week: Are we seeing the end of the optical disc? Will it all be downloadable content in the near future? We offer our thoughts on this.

Entertainment News This Week: We discuss the new trailers for the films ‘Clash of the Titans’ and ‘Kick-Ass’, ‘Avatar’s’ budget revealed, ‘Battleship’ gets aliens and Joss Whedon’s ‘Dollhouse’ gets cancelled.

Our Feature Reviews: We review the new CG film ‘9’, great design and weak story is the final verdict. David McVay reviews the new Zemeckis mo-cap CG film ‘A Christmas Carol’, not as bad as expected but still lacks heart.

Stay tuned after the end music as Nicholas ‘the little geek’ McVay joins David for his opinions on ‘A Christmas Carol’.

This episode carries an explicit tag due to infrequent coarse language.

Listen or download it here or subscribe to it on iTunes

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Geek Actually is brought to you by listeners, just like you. Thanks for your contributions. If you wish to make a contribution, go to the “Support Us” link above. A Special Note: We are still trying to raise money to send us to Melbourne to visit the set of a new Sci-Fi film being shot there. Help us to add some great content to the show and donate today.

Just a reminder, if you have any comments about the episodes please leave them in the comments field below or email us using the contact link above. If you are an iTunes user, please leave a review as we are trying to get on the featured list and every review helps. Your comments (good or bad) help us improve the show. You can contact us here.

The Geek Actually Podcast is recorded live on Ustream every Saturday Morning 11am Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (UTC+11). If you still just want to listen to the audio podcast, it will go out as normal on Sunday. Want to catch up with the video but missed the show on Saturday? Go to geekactually.com/live, the repeat runs all week.

‘Platforms’, the new gaming podcast is recorded live on Ustream on Monday night, 8pm Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (UTC+11). You can watch it at geekactually.com/platforms. The repeat will run all week at the same address. You can subscribe to the audio version on iTunes.

Nov 12

Watch the New Clash of the Titans Trailer

I’ve been waiting to see this for awhile now. This is the ‘Clash of the Titans’ teaser trailer. ‘Clash of the Titans’ is the remake of the 1981 film of the same name. When I first heard about the remake I thought to myself “Oh god why?!?” Later I heard that Louis Leterrier was signed to direct, I got a little more excited. Then I heard that Lawrence Kasdan was writing the screenplay and I thought WOW! Well time has moved on and Lawrence Kasdan is nowhere to be seen in the credits so I guess that is one strike against it. Now we see the trailer and it is all ramped up, 300 style shots and fights and it all left me a little cold. I hate the use of music in this trailer, I think it need to be a little grander and a little less rock. We will discuss this trailer and this remake on this weeks Geek Actually Podcast (ep 60).

According to the IMDB listing, the synopsis (for those who have not seen the original) is:

A remake of the 1981 film version of the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster in order to save the Princess Andromeda.

‘Clash of the Titans’ is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Nicholas Hoult, Alexa Davalos, Danny Huston, Pete Postlethwaite and Polly Walker. It is scheduled to be released on the 1st of April 2010 (but that could be a joke!)

Nov 12

Date Night Trailer

I have to say it right out in the open, I have a soft spot for Tina Fey and Steve Carell so to see them team up for this film makes me want to go see it, even though it looks like a piece of fluff. I found myself giggling at more than a few moments in this trailer and thought I should share.

According to /Film, the synopsis is as follows:

The Fosters are a typical suburban couple whose lives – including their weekly date nights of dinner and a movie – have become routine. To reignite the marital spark, they visit a trendy Manhattan bistro where a case of mistaken identity turns their evening into the ultimate date night-gone-awry. But as Claire and Phil take their unexpected walk on the wild side, they begin to remember what made them so special together.

Date Night is directed by Shawn Levy and stars Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Mila Kunis, Leighton Meester, Mark Wahlberg, James Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, and Ray Liotta. It will be released in Australia on the 8th April 2010.

Nov 12

Kick-Ass Trailer

Finally, I get to see a little footage from this and all I can say is bring it on! This is one that Josh and I have been hanging out for and we will discuss the trailer in this weeks Geek Actually (Ep60) episode.


‘Kick-Ass’ is directed by Matthew Vaughn based on Mark Millar’s comic book Kick-Ass. It will be released in the US by Lion’s Gate on the 16th April 2010.