Now that we're back together from our little holiday break, its time to settle in and get back to our normal schedule for the show and upcoming future music episodes. It was nice getting back together with the boys even though I said I'd skip out on this episode which probably would have been better if I did because I was not a fan of top 5 game of the year lists this time around. Here is what we discussed: Kyles holiday/anniversary gift issues, Halo CE: Anniversary Edition, Uncharted 1, 2, The Binding of Issac, Bastion, Bills quick summary of Operation Flashpoint: Red River, the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Raid Finder, Bill spoils the ending of Saints Row The Third,  and of course our top 5 games of 2011.

Music in this episode: New Super Mario Bros.  Mushroom Maddness OCRemix, The Binding of Issac

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

With Kyle missing from the show due to having to make bacon money, Bill and Josh continue on to create one weird feeling show but atleast fun was had while making it! Next episode expect our yearly game of the year show just like everyone else, its going to be tough trying to create a list with all the amazing games we had this year. Here is what we discussed: Trine 2, Diablo III Beta, Rage crashing, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Uncharted 3 and listener questions & comments.

Music in this episode: Trine 2, Diablo

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Thanksgiving is out of the way but having all that open time to play games and chat with everyone over skype was where the real magic came from. Its been a fun week of creating more inside jokes, poking Josh for games he wouldn't normally play and getting another podcast out of the way. Here is what we discussed: Saints Row: The Third, Sonic Generations, inFAMOUS 2, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, listener questions and emails. 

Music in this episode:  Lizards Larry's Funky House of Lowe OC ReMix, Starship Amazing

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

We're finally into the thick of the season where it seems like every game comes out all at once but we seem to be handling it well by skipping most games to just play Battlefiend 3 and Skyrim! We're not quite sure if we'll be recording within the next two weeks due to thanksgiving and all so if you don't see a new episode then, you're probably used to it anyway! Here is what we discussed this episode:  Listener questions/comments, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Battlefield 3, Sonic Generations, Pixeljunk Sidescroller, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Dark Souls, inFamous Festival of Blood.

Music in this episode: Sonic Generations, de Blob 2, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Our third chair Mr Bill finally joined us in his first episode as a member of the podcast, it'll be nice to have that extra person on the show who plays some games that Kyle and myself probably wouldn't get around to play and discuss. Here is what we discussed on this episode: Guardian Heroes, Batman Arkham City, Dungeon Defenders, Forza 4, Dark Souls and Kyle losing a race to his girlfriend Nancy.

Music in this episode: Spike Jones (Big Bad Bill), .hack//sign, Dark Souls

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

So this is our last episode as a two man show since the great BillyBillBlack will be joining us from this point on. I'm glad to see him get back into doing a podcast and it should be very exciting so see how much fun we'll all be having in the future while doing the show! This episode was pretty sweet due to all the hockey references as Kyle is now becoming a fan of the greatest sport around but as usual hes quick to point out, we're finally back on schedule! Here is what we discussed: NHL 12, Minecraft Pocket Edition, Crimson Alliance, FIFA 12, Gears of War 3 horde mode, Duke Nukem Forever.

Music in this episode: Tron: Legacy, The Brass Bonanza, Talking Classics

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Two episodes within just a few days of each other? Yeah, you're welcome! Kyle and I were able to get together this week for a normal episode so we quickly seized the opportunity to pop out another strike to your face and get some older games we've been wanting to talk about off our lists once and for all. Here is what we discussed: Droid Bionic, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine, Limbo, Boarderlands, Hard Reset, NHL 12.

Music in this episode: Desert Planet, Magicka

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Its been some time since I sat down and just did a music episode without a theme and frankly its quite nice to not have to stick to any type of restriction like that. This one covered a few requests we've had lingering around over the years so if you have any new ones make sure you try and get them to us!

Music in this episode: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Deathsmiles, Final Fantasy X, Bastion, EverQuest, Sword & Sworcery, Super Street Fighter IV, El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron, Pixeljunk Shooter, Afro Samurai, Torchlight, Skitchin`, Starship Amazing, Hyadain, Radiant Silvergun, inFAMOUS 2.

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Its about that time of year that our little summer vacation break from the podcast begins to wind down so we wanted to get together finally and cover a bunch of the games we played since our Funspot trip. Now that we're back from vacation I hope we can get back to our normal schedule and also get back to doing some music episodes so if you have any suggestions for game songs head over here and post the title name for us! Here is what we discussed: Child of Eden, Assassin's Creed II, Portal 2, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Street Fighter III: Third Strike, Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection, Pinball FX 2, El Shaddai

Music in this episode: Street Fighter 3: Third Strike (online edition), Bastion

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

We're so close to being back on schedule and it was actually really fun recording this episode with Kyle but I think the thing that made it so great was his new microphone. Its funny how something so simple can mix up how you feel about a show after 6 years. Editing was easier and so was recording it. Here is what was discussed: Spotify, Killzone 3, Warhammer 40K: Kill Team, Dungeon Siege 3, Gatling Gears, NCAA 12, Galaga Legions DX, a very awkward story involving Kyle without a shirt on and 80's music playing in public. 

Music in this episode: The Lonely Island, DjCUTMAN - Goon Ball

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Well we've had a nice long summer break but its time to get back to recording on a regular schedule. Hopefully things calm down in both our lives so we can spend some more time on all this stuff as we've both missed it! Its also nice to know that Kyle's attention isn't any better after all this time because during the intro he said it was episode 74 even though its actually 75. Regardless of all that, here is what we discussed: Outland, inFAMOUS/inFAMOUS 2, Dungeons and Dragons: Daggerdale, Terraria, ilomilo, World of Keflings, Socom 4, Uncharted 3 beta.

Music in this episode: Animal Crossing, Duke Nukem Forever

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

It's been two years since I visited this style of music, but now seems like a better time than ever to revisit the chiptune community. I've learned a few new things this time around, there are a ton of new artists who are doing amazing work and chiptunes seem to be getting better and better. I'm happy I took some time off from doing this type of episode because it just feels right now, hopefully everyone enjoys all the hard work these artists have put into their music and shows them a bit of support.

Artists in this episode: minusbaby, syphus, criticalhit, The J. Arthur Keenes Band, Starscream, Cornbeast, Dr. Szliszka, Chetreo, SMILETRON, Nullsleep, Arcade Superstar, Wizwars

We finally got around to recording a actual episode but the best part about it is we were once again joined by our good friend Bill from For Your FYI who has made several appearances in the past. It's always nice to get the guys from that show on here because we always seem to have more fun. It was nice getting together with the boys to do another episode and even answer some questions from twitter. Here is what we discussed: Crappy movies, Sanctum, Crysis 2, Minecraft, Motorstorm Apocalypse, Mortal Kombat, Vanquish, Billy's Roku.

Music in this episode: Motorstorm Apocalypse, Portal 2, Mortal Kombat

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

About a year ago I promised to everyone that I would do another music episode based on video game bands and for some unknown reason I just never did it. I'm sure that makes me a jerk, but at least its finally done now, right? Either way, I'm happy to finally get this settled and release another music episode since a bunch of new bands have emerged and released their own interpretations with the video game music we've all grown up and loved! I hope you enjoy all their work and that you seek them out to give them support so they may continue to give us these face melting tunes.

Music in this episode: The Megas, Distorted Evolution, FamicomBit, The Protomen, This Place is Haunted, The Kode, Year 200X, Daniel Tidwell, VikingGuitar, Descendants Of Erdrick, The Advantage, Powerglove

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Finally getting back into the routine of doing a show, Kyle and I were a bit surprised that we had so many games to discuss to begin with that a few didn't even make it. That isn't exactly something that happens to us too often because we have such limited playing time, but it sure made for a welcome change! Here is what we discussed: MLB The Show 11, Marvel vs Capcom 3, Pixeljunk Shooter 2, Days of Thunder Nascar, Nintendo 3DS, Super Street Fighter IV 3D, Singularity, Fallout New Vegas, Beyond Good & Evil, Red Dead Redemotion, Rift

Music in this episode: Danger Zone (H-Pizzle), Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

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if you aren't sick of hearing about Penny Arcade Expo East yet, well now you can hear all about our impressions about this years event! It was nice seeing Kyle and Nancy again but I'm pretty sure we were all overwhelmed by the size of the event this year. Thanks to everyone we met and all the great games we got to play but if  you've never been, you should really try and go one year just to experience the pure chaos that is a gathering of thousands of nerds. Here is some of the games we discussed: Swarm, Duke Nukem Forever, Mortal Kombat, Super Street Fighter IV 3D, Dragon Nest, Child of Eden.

Music in this episode: Contra Snow Field OC ReMix

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

The fine gentlemen over at That Gamer Hub were kind enough to invite Kyle and myself over to their quad-super hotel studio to record a post day 2 PAX East podcast. We were a little hopped up and Kyle might have been under the influence of alcohol after our little Super Street Fighter IV gathering with The Rumble Pack but it ended up being a good time! We'd like to thank That Gamer Hub for having and introducing us to John and Rachel (from Pixelated Geek).

Pretty much as the title of this episode says, this marks the end for the releases known as Critical Music. It was a fun hobby and I think this begins a time where it will hopefully be a bit bigger part of our show. So with that from now on all the music episodes will be known as Critical Strike like the main podcast!

Music in this episode: VM Japan, Mass Effect 2, X-Men Arcade, Contra: Shattered Soldier, Trauma Team, A Fistful of Rupees (Fatboy Roberts), Gran Turismo 5, Super Meat Boy, MAG, Uncharted 2, Bit.Trip Runner, Bonesaw, The Eye of Judgment, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Okami

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

This was an interesting episode for us as it marks the first time Kyle pretty much did the entire thing on his own. While I don't think he enjoyed it as much as I did, I think it maybe something we see more of in the future! Some other fun things came out of it like Kyle's new hobby of trolling people on Facebook. Here is what else we discussed: LittleBigPlanet 2, Singularity, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, Golden Sun: Dark Dawn.

Mentioned in the show:

Music in this episode: Black Materia: Final Fantasy VII

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

As promised and totally expected, we have stuck to our schedule and finally released a episode in a timely manner! It's been a good couple of weeks because neither of us were hit by a car or ended up deathly ill but most importantly one of my most anticipated games came out so I was very excited to discuss it to Kyle, sadly I think everything I had to say about it fell on deaf ears but we shall see! Here is what we discussed: Singularity, Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Final Fantasy XIII, LittleBigPlanet 2.

Music in this episode: LittleBigPlanet 2

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

While its been a few weeks since we actually recorded, we're actually right on schedule with releasing the show because the last one was put out just a couple of weeks ago! Sure, we may have been late with that, but at least we explain why it took us so long to get the show out. Either way, we're back after the holidays to bring you another episode and here is what we discussed: Splatterhouse, Spelunker HD, Fable 3, Alan Wake, Kyle bought a Kinect, Mass Effect 2.

Music in this episode: Terra's Theme (Select Start), Ultimate Ghosts `n Goblins

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

So this episode has been sitting on my hard drive for a few weeks, I really can't explain why I didn't edit it sooner minus something that happened to me last week. I finally got a bit tired of being asked where it was so I took a bit of time, edited the show and now everyone can be happy! Its been a fun year for the podcast. We've made a lot of friends, met in person, went to PAX East and just played a ton of games together which is the most important part of it all! Since this is the last episode of the year, here is what we discussed: World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, Alan Wake, Gran Turismo 5, top 5 games of 2010.

Music in this episode: Tron Tribute (8bit Weapon), Regulate (FatalExceptionID cover), World of Warcraft

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Now that I've finally gotten around to doing another Critical Music episode, I wanted to start it off strong with doing a tribute to my favorite game developer of all time! Blizzard Entertainment has been very important to me throughout my gaming past and I wanted to share a reason why I love them so much with everyone else. I hope you all enjoy it but most of all thank you to everyone at Blizzard Entertainment for creating such wonderful games and giving me so much to play or even listen to.

Music in this episode: The Lost Vikings, Norse by Norsewest: The Return Of Lost Vikings, Rock `n Roll Racing, Blackthorne, The Death and Return of Superman, Justice League Task Force, Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, Diablo, StarCraft, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Thank you Glenn Stafford, Russell Brower, Tracy W. Bush and all the wonderful composers in Blizzard Entertainments history!

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Well now that we've gotten this out of the way, hopefully things will begin to going back to normal with releases! It was nice to finally sit down and discuss some games with Kyle, but I think it was more nice to see that we've actually played something in the three or four weeks we took off from the show. Here is what we discussed: Kyle's adventures in PC gaming, Dragon Age: Origins, DeathSpank, Rocket Knight, Rock Band 3, MAG, Game Dev Story, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit.

Music in this episode: Action Adventure World, Starship Amazing

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike

Well this has been just weird, first we couldn't record the weekend we initially planned on and then I got sick and lazy (World of Warcraft demanded me) so I didn't edit the podcast when I normally would! Now that I'm over the cold and Blizzcon is over, the podcast is finally out! Here is what we discussed: World of Warcraft, God of War 3, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Final Fantasy XIV, Castlevania Lords of Shadow, NHL 11, The Shoot, a listener email and iTunes review thanks.

Music in this episode: Dragon Punch!, Terra (Final Fantasy VI)

You can reach us at cstrikepodcast@gmail.com, leave a voicemail at (909) 278-7453 or Twitter at criticalstrike