Chris Johnston

Episode

77: A Bad Week For Print

Last week, two bombshells came out of Ziff-Davis. First, the closing of the Games For Windows magazine--leaving EGM as the company's sole gaming magazine; and Dan Hsu's departure as Editorial Director. Not a good week for print, surely. We discuss that plus talk Crisis Core: Final

Generation 16

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)

This week's game is Konami's The Legend of the Mystical Ninja for the SNES, the game that introduced Western gamers to Goemon. Of course, Americans were afraid of crazy Japanese names back in 1992, so he was renamed "Kid Ying" for this release (and

Episode

76: There Will Be Kong

We hope this episode makes up for last week's little April Fools shenanigans. Almost two hours of show this week with an XL What'cha Been Playing and a discussion on Donkey Kong Country (our seventh Game Club title). Games we also get around to talking about

Episode

75: Oops, Wormhole

Oops, Wormhole. April fools. Running time: 59:52

Generation 16

Donkey Kong Country (SNES)

It's time for our first SNES Game Club game: Donkey Kong Country, Rare's take on Nintendo's classic character. Dig out your old SNES cart or pick it up for 800 Wii Points on the Virtual Console. Donkey Kong Country - Exposed! - A 1994

Episode

74: Thunder at the Gates

This week -- Soleil Moon Frye's breasts! Gate of Thunder! And a whole bunch of other things, I just wanted to start the description off in a titillating fashion. Other games we discuss: Ratchet & Clank Size Matters PS2, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Impossible Mission, Pinball Hall of

Episode

73: Brawlin' up a storm

This week we welcome back Ethan Einhorn, Associate Producer at Sega to talk about how he got into the industry, working at EGM/GameNow and his transition into PR and game production. Also--we spend the first part of the show discussing just one of the games we played this past

Generation 16

Gate of Thunder (TurboGrafx-16 CD / TurboDuo)

For Game Club game #6, we have chosen Gate of Thunder for the TurboGrafx-16 CD / TurboDuo. Available for your playing pleasure via the Wii Virtual Console (800 points). Here's a little info on the game: From Nintendo's Virtual Console page: The legendary sci-fi shooter is back!

Episode

72: Maximum Pink

This week we're joined by another former co-worker of the crew, Ethan Einhorn--who's currently a producer at Sega and was in the news last week after the presentation of Super Monkey Ball for iPhone at Apple's iPhone SDK press conference. He joins us to

Episode

71: What's a Boss?

With Greg Sewart away this week, we welcome EGM's Managing Editor Greg Ford to the program to chat about games. Those we discuss this week include N+, Rock Band, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Burnout Paradise, Triggerheart Exelica, Lost Odyssey, Patapon and Chessmaster Live, among others. We

Generation 16

Kirby's Adventure (NES)

Available on: NES, Wii Virtual Console ($5) We'll be talking about this one on Episode 72. And as always, discuss it here and/or on our voicemail line -- 713-893-8069.

Episode

70: Not of this Earth

You hear a lot of talk these days about games with open worlds, co-op gameplay, where exploration is key. Those three very buzz-worthy concepts of today also came into play in our fourth Game Club game, ToeJam & Earl for the Sega Genesis. One of the era's few

Episode

69: Player One is Live-Ive

It's a different kind of podcast this week. Greg is gone, CJ and Phil are LIVE from San Francisco. It's the first time we've recorded an episode where any of us were in the same room. We talk about the Game Developers Conference and

Generation 16

ToeJam & Earl (Genesis)

Awright, the moment you (may have) been waiting for. The game club game on tap for discussion in Episode 70 is none other than ToeJam & Earl for the Sega Genesis. ToeJam & Earl is available on Virtual Console. Discuss here or via our voicemail line at 713-893-8069.

Episode

68: They Call Him Ecco, Ecco the Dolphin

Dolphins may be warm-blooded, but Sega's Genesis hit Ecco the Dolphin...cold-blooded. One of the company's most experimental and renowned releases from the 16-bit era is P1P Game Club game #3, so we spend the second half of the show discussing it. A breakthrough game at

Episode

67: Do the Math

Step back in time nearly 15 years to a time when, if you believed the hype, the number of bits your system had mattered. And for Atari, it was the only card they had to play against industry bigwigs Sega, Sony and Nintendo. Certainly the software wasn't doing

Generation 16

Ecco the Dolphin (Genesis)

Here it is, folks. Our next Game Club game is Ecco the Dolphin for the Sega Genesis. Ecco's available on a number of systems: * Genesis * Sega CD * Virtual Console (Wii) - 800 Wii Points * Xbox Live Arcade (Xbox 360) - 400 MS Points * Sega Genesis Collection (PS2) -

Episode

66: Get Your Kicks

This week we spend most of our time talking about last week's release of Burnout Paradise. Plus Rock Band, Samurai Warriors Katana, Sonic & Mario at the Olympics, DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and more. And of course, Game Club #2: Ninja Gaiden for NES. Running time: 1:31:

Generation 16

Ninja Gaiden (NES)

Episode 66's Game Club game will be Ninja Gaiden (NES). Discuss!

Episode

65: Burnout till there's Burn-in

This week Burnout Paradise hits the 360 and PS3, so we spend some time talking about the series' history and its journey from being an Acclaim-published title that no one paid attention to to one of the biggest game franchises around. Also this week, we talk about some of

Generation 16

Star Tropics (NES)

In Episode 64 we spent a lengthy amount of time talking about Star Tropics, Nintendo's modern-day-ish action-adventure title for the 8-bit NES. Released for Christmas 1990, the game was (oddly) developed specifically for the US and European markets. Never came out in Japan. So, let's discuss

Episode

64: The Reality of Project Reality

In a clever scheme to tie the episode number into the content of the show, this week we spend some time talking about the Nintendo 64. From Project Reality to the limitations of the cartridge format to the system as a turning point for Nintendo's position in the

Episode

63: '08 Look Out

This week, we take a few moments to ponder the year ahead with some predictions and issues that the big three need to address. But not before we get Dan's Top 5 of '07, talk Dormerbot for a few, and catch up on the games everyone'

Episode

62: Delayed to '08

This week -- a look-back on the year that was 2007. A little rundown of the big headlines, a little discussion of our personal Top Fives for the year, and your calls on gaming highs and lows of the year. Oh, there's also a What'cha Been

Episode

61: A Holly, Jolly Mega Man X-Mas

This week, we talk Mega Man (whose 20th birthday was last week). A little about the highs, the lows, the undiscovered games in the MM canon. We spend a little time reminiscing about the blue bomber and his many adventures against nefarious robot oppressors. But before that we talk about