Well, E3 has officially ended, and our team is preparing to wing their way back home. Before they started packing, they sat down to give you guys one more podcast detailing their final day at this year’s conference.

You can look forward to hearing Shawn, Jonathan, and Daniel discuss the games they saw on Thursday, their hands-on experiences on the show floor, and what they were most impressed with at the show as a whole.

This special episode is available for direct download here.

As always, you can send comments, snide remarks, or suggestions to podcast@filefront.com. You can check out the entire File-N-Forget back catalog of episodes at http://podcast.filefront.com.

You can also check out the File-N-Forget Podcast on the iTunes Music Store.

Since the Day 2 podcast was delayed, the E3 team thought you folks might enjoy getting a chance to check out Day 2 and Day 3 nearly simultaneously.

On Wednesday (Day 3 if you count Monday), the guys got a chance to check out Rock Band 2 (a game that I definitely want to hear more about). Now, I don’t know how they managed to get by without my amazing guitar skills, but they apparently did. They also dealt with something that was referred to as the ‘Konami Apocalypse,’ as well as getting some hands on time with Valve’s upcoming zombie-fest, Left 4 Dead. (Yes, that last bit makes me green with envy.)

You also get a chance to see what 3 days of sleep deprivation does to these guys, as they sound like they might be fraying ’round the edges just a bit.

This episode is available for direct download right over here.

As always, you can send comments, snide remarks, or suggestions to podcast@filefront.com. You can check out the entire File-N-Forget back catalog of episodes at http://podcast.filefront.com.

You can also check out the File-N-Forget Podcast on the iTunes Music Store.

The Gaming Today crew at E3 is back with their insights into Day 2 of E3. You can find out what the guys think about Nintendo, Sony, and the Activision not-quite-E3 press conference.

Personally, I think Sony had the most impressive of the so-called ‘Big Three’ press conferences, but if you want to see what our guys on site thought, you’ll have to tune in.

This episode is available for direct download here.

As always, you can send comments, snide remarks, or suggestions to podcast@filefront.com. You can check out the entire File-N-Forget back catalog of episodes at http://podcast.filefront.com.

You can also check out the File-N-Forget Podcast on the iTunes Music Store.

As I am sure you are aware by now, our industrious E3 team is hard at work gathering scraps of info for your perusal. We’re adding something a little different this year for your enjoyment: a nightly podcast wrap-up of the day’s events.

Wondering what’s in this episode? In the words or your immortal host, Shawn Sines, “E3 2008 Day 1: Microsoft & EA talked a lot, we’re talking about their talking.. only with opinions, innuendo and veiled sarcasm. Will the new Live! changes make sense? Is Dragon Age the most disappointing trailer of the show? Listen and find out what we think about Day 1 (sort of) of E3!”

We’ll have a podcast coming your way from E3 every day this week, so make sure you check it out.

You can grab the pocast directly from this link.

As always, you can send comments, suggestions, or snide remarks to podcast@filefront.com. Our back catalog of episodes is available at http://podcast.filefront.com. The File-N-Forget Podcast is also available on the iTunes Music store.

A few weeks back (June 23rd to be exact) I had the pleasure of taking a quick trip out to sunny San Jose, California to visit the offices of MMO Developer Cryptic Studios. While there I got an update on the studio’s plans and their upcoming release Champions Online. Through fortuitous events I was lucky enough to get interview time with the company’s Chief Creative Officer Jack Emmert.

Champions Online is Cryptic’s latest MMO. Once again the topic de jeur is Super Heroes but this time the platform is a bit different since the game is being developed for both the PC and Xbox 360 platforms and is adopting and expanding the world setting and characters originally developed for the popular and long-published Champions Pen-and-paper RPG.

Mr. Emmert was kind enough to agree to allow the interview to be recorded and I’ve turned the entire 12 minutes into the first Special Edition of the File-N-Forget Podcast.

The podcast interview can be downloaded here and found on the File-N-Forget podcast page along with the other 30+ weekly episodes.

For those who prefer their interviews typed you can read a transcript of the conversation after the jump.

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks as the embargo lifts and I can share the details of my Champions Online Gamer’s Day experience more completely.

<Gaming Today:> Welcome to this special edition of the File-N-Forget Podcast, I’m Shawn Sines. Recently I had an opportunity to travel out and visit with the folks at Cryptic Studios to discuss their upcoming console and PC massively multiplayer RPG — Champions Online. While there I cornered Cryptic’s Chief Creative Officer, Jack Emmert, to talk about the game and the studio’s choice of yet another super hero oriented title, this one based on the long running pen-and-paper RPG Champions. Here’s that interview.

<Sound Effect Intro>

<GT:>What made Champions an attractive property for you?

<Jack Emmert:> Well first because I loved it, that was the most important because it was an <intellectual property> that I knew and its just as dear to me as Marvel, or DC <comics>. I had started playing Champions and buying Champions within years of starting buying comic books. So, I must have taken that first edition everywhere with me and made characters, photocopy and fill in the costume and stuff like that and it was certainly one of the inspirations I had with City of Heroes. So being able to go back and actually get that IP was great.

Now from a business point of view, Champions is a recognizable name among a very core demographic, namely role playing gamers and all though people are like ‘Isn’t that really small and niche?’ Well first of all, its certainly smaller than it used to be but back in the 80’s and early 90’s roleplaying game products sold hundreds of thousands of units and there is a vast amount of people out there that have either played Champions… once upon a time, regularly or played it once or twice, or at least recognized it when they went into the store and those people have name recognition. Great! They know the product, they know what we’re about.

Lastly, Champions is just a great name to put on a box about super heroes. So for all those reasons added up it became a no-brainer for us. Because of my connection with Hero Games and Steve Long and Darren Watts, who owned the property, it was easy enough for me to pick up the phone and say “Hey, what can we do?”

<GT:> So this is effectively the third super hero game that you’ve developed. Why another super hero game when you had an opportunity to move on and do something else after you finished City of Heroes and City of Villains and you decided what your next project was? You had another project that came up and kinda went away..

<Jack Emmert:> Yep. Marvel Universe Online

<GT:> What made you move on to Champions?

<Jack Emmert:> Because there were so many things that I had done, and that our team had done in City of Heroes well and things that we didn’t do well and I wanted an opportunity to do a new type of super hero game that went in directions that we chose not too in City of Heroes for any variety of reasons.

There were various game mechanics that we learned from and things we might have done differently and also some things I wish we had done in the first place in a different way. I just wanted a different game you know, this is very different visually. Its a very theme. Its a very different product.

Its like comparing Lord of the Rings Online with Conan Online right? The two are so different in terms of what they’re aiming at and I think that was really a main driver for me, so I’m quite happy to do it. I really enjoyed stretching myself as a designer because I had to do things that I had never done before. I had to learn about console development and console style gameplay as you, yourself, experienced and I hope this is true that we’ve developed a console style action gameplay in an MMO. In doing that, it doesn’t just translate.. you don’t just design a PC game and throw it into a console, so all those were challenges that I really wanted to tackle. I really wanted to grow so in sum total that’s why I still wanted to go forward with a super hero property.

<GT:> Well a tougher question. Do you think that the market as a whole for MMOs is going to recognize that difference or that change from the two current offerings? Are they just going to see it as another name? or an expansion? How are you going to combat that?

<Jack Emmert:> Well, I think that for the vast majority of people, they won’t associate the two because it isn’t called City of Heroes 2, number one. Number two, the style of gameplay is so different. I think anybody who played City of Heroes and didn’t care for it, I think Champions will be a game that offers something completely new and also look, this is going to be on the 360.This will be the first natively developed <MMORPG> game for the 360 and I think all these things combine mean this is a brand new offering, its a different type of game.

After all, Rock Band, right… its the same thing with Rock Band… it is a sequel in a sense to Guitar Hero but I’m not sure anybody really perceives that or cares about that. People still buy Guitar Hero II but Rock Band was something new, something different.

<GT:> So, lets backtrack and talk about the <Champions> property itself a little bit. Like you mentioned, this is a game, or an intellectual property that has 30 years of living, evolving history. Its been through 5 editions. Various creative hands have touched it and adapted it over the years. What impact do you think you’re going to have on that?

<Jack Emmert:> Well considering we own the IP, probably a lot. <Laughs> I know that we’ve been guiding things or are at least in discussion with Steve <Long> and Darren about the future of the IP universe. Now its a lot more cooperative and I think we are certainly bringing and refining the identity of Champions so as a universe it does stand up as its own unique creature in as much as you look at the Wild Cards universe, you look at Top Cow universe, you look DC, you look at Marvel. Each of these have signature themes. Champions is going to have that too. I think that’s something that currently we’re really refining as we work together.

<GT:> This is for the uber geek, small percentage, like you and I, who actually played the game before its digital version but how are you changing the timeline? What kind of impact are you going to have on that? Is there going to be a chronological from what people are expecting? And are you syncing up your changes with the print product?

<Jack Emmert:> Yeah, all the changes are synced up with the print product. Certainly we are focusing on 2008. We are focusing on the events that are taking place probably post just about all the launch products. Those are all in the past at the moment. From the next supplement forward I think we are pretty much going to be in sync with the game and the game time.

<GT:> Can you summarize a little bit about the iconic characters that people can expect to see. I mean obviously Champions is recognizable for a group of people but its not as immediately recognizable as say.. Batman, Superman, Spider-man.

<Jack Emmert:> Yeah, I would say <laugh>

<GT:> There are obviously those types of personages in this universe. Which ones come to mind as the key movers and shakers in your game?

<Jack Emmert:> Well the two primary: on the good side is Defender, James Harmon, a man who developed powered armor in the wake of the destruction of Detroit wanting to do good. On the evil side its Dr. Destroyer, a mysterious figure long thought dead, now reappeared. Although nobody’s really quite sure of his true identity.

All the Champions fans will be happy to see everybody from Grond, Foxbat, Justicar, to Witchcraft, Iron Clad… We are going deep into the rogues gallery when you start stomping around Stronghold Prison and you’ll be running into some big bads that you recognize and we’ll be seeing them all throughout the game.

<GT:> When you were doing the media briefing earlier today, you were discussing that your design goal was to let players experience what it is to play a comic book.

<Jack Emmert:> Yes.

<GT:> How do you crystallize that? How do you classify that?

<Jack Emmert:> Well I think first there is a visual style that we have in the game thatr communicates comic book. Second I think its also the types of missions, quests, locations that you’re on. I think that you feel like you’re in a comic book more because you’re traveling to exotic locations and you’re fighting evil on a grand scale. Last, but not least, it’s how we convey to the player the story. We’ve got some kinda unique things that we wanna do there so people really feel like ‘Hey! I’m putting together a storyline with my character in a comic book.’ Really Living it.

<GT:> Now, this is probably going to sound like a funny question, but why co-develop across the 360 and the PC when MMOs have traditionally been PC oriented?

<Jack Emmert:> Because somebody’s got to do it. <Laughs> We developed the technology and somebody has to break through that barrier. Eventually it was going to be somebody else and not us and its a perfect genre to give a shot on the console game. Super hero games sell quite well on the console. I myself, I’m looking quite forward to playing the Incredible Hulk game, the movie game, and that’s just one example. Iron Man, not so good, but the Spider-man titles and Ultimate Alliance are great.

<GT:> So it’s kind of a situation where you’re striking while the iron is hot?

<Jack Emmert:> We might as well, we’ve got the technology, we’ve got an appropriate genre, lets do it.

<GT:> Theoretically, if there was any genre and any game in the world you could make, that you haven’t already, what would it be?

<Jack Emmert:> Giant Monsters.

<GT:> So, Godzilla the fighting game?

<Jack Emmert:> Not a fighting game but I’d do some sort of MMO that related to giant monsters.

<GT:> Aren’t you doing some of that with your super hero game?

<Jack Emmert:> Yeah, I mean you already saw, today, a demonstration.

<GT:> Monster Island?

<Jack Emmert:> Yeah, but making something cool like that. Making an MMO based on one of the miniatures properties that I love like WarMachine or Hordes would be awesome. I’ve got a whole host, I mean there’s a sort of pulp game. A horror survivalist/apocalypse game. A super-science, supernatural World War II game. There’s a ton of them I don’t lack for ideas. I’ve got 4 or 5 high concepts that I’d love to do. Who knows when I’ll have the time or the ability.

<GT:> Your games to date have been in the MMO space. Any thoughts about moving outside of MMOs?

<Jack Emmert:> Never. Its what I know how to do. I don’t think that I have much of an interest in going into a tradition 10-20 hour console game right now, a platform jumper or something. I might try to develop non-traditional MMOs as time goes by, as I get more and more intrigued by the nature of trying to reach new audiences. I’m pretty much, you know, a hard core gamer type and I think I’ll make games that fit what I do best.

<GT:> What games are you enjoying <playing> right now?

<Jack Emmert:> Well aside from playing lots of Champions, I’ve been working a lot with the Gaia Online people. They’ve got some cool stuff underway to really expand their outreach. I’ve really been enjoying that alot. On PSP I’m playing the God of War game. My last 360 game that I got was the Conan action game, which I thought was actually kinda underrated. The reviews weren’t terrific but I actually thought it was better than what they were giving it credence for, in my opinion. I am going to go out and buy the Hulk game next paycheck. <Laughs>

E3.. once the premiere event of the video game season is now a shadow of its former self. While we’ve discussed this in the past and even lamented a bit about things long gone, Ron and Shawn choose this week to discuss the upcoming event and related coverage plans for the File-N-Forget Podcast and Gaming Today in general.

Readers and listeners should send suggestions for E3 coverage and possible developer questions to the podcast email. We’ll happily address them and if possible pose them to the guilty parties during the event and report back.

Once we move on from that topic the infamous Jack Thompson makes himself a topic of discussion again. In light of the recently released recommendations for his disbarment in Florida and then we move on to the “Jack Thompson” memorial Rant & Rave segment where Ron actually praises a Gamestop store, and Shawn laments the state of aussie censorship.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

The legion of the Undead is expanding rapidly. Players will soon be seeing Undead units in several quests. They’re also now part of the SAGA fan site kit.

In-game tournaments are making their way SAGA as well. The first to be introduced will be a sealed deck, eight player single elimination format.

Tournaments will allow players to experience playing with full armies at max level without needing to collect all the units and without competing against suitcase players who may own every troop in the game 50 times over.

Look for beta testing to commence soon.

For more information on the SAGA MMORTS, visit the official PlaySaga homepage.

If you’re interested in SAGA you can check out our previous coverage, including the File-N-Forget Podcast interview with the creators of SAGA from a few months back

via Press Release

The File-N-Forget Podcast returns this week as we ramp up for our upcoming E3 coverage. With Metal Gear Solid 4 now established in the market and fans going gaga over it, Ron and Shawn give their quick impressions of it along with Battlefield: Bad Company and Alone in the Dark.

Bigger questions loom however as we discuss the state of E3 and what we think might happen in years to come.

There are also Rants & Raves to make the fanboys happy.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

Our Mission this week is to debrief you on the history of Konami’s Metal Gear series. Maniac Elephant (Ron) and Infamous Cockroach (Shawn) discuss their past experience with the Metal Gear missions and plan a tactical approach for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Twin Acid Sons of the Patriots Liberty Eater’s Revenge mission that is set to go into operation this coming Friday.

The two mission specialists also talk about a rogue military superweapon (The Incredible Hulk), a rogue government assassin (The Bourne Conspiracy) and a silly child’s game featuring a plastic college professor (LEGO Indiana Jones).

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

You can get your own Metal Gear Codename by checking out the Metal Gear Name Generator.

File-N-Forget returns this week with a discussion of the changing face of gaming. Our topic: Cooperative gameplay and its evolution over the last few generations of consoles. Additionally Shawn raves about the good part of the the Xbox Live! Arcade game delisting and Ron gets wishy washy with praise and damnation for Funcom’s Age of Conan.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

Most excellent readers, today we present for you a report on the the most non-heinous Age of Conan Beta. While traveling through the lush underbrush of the most interesting of unreleased online games, Ron and Shawn contemplate the differences and extol the virtues of this soon to release dark fantasy world. Remember that the impressions recounted in the podcast are based upon impressions of a BETA and not final game code and as always may change prior to release of the final game.

We ran long so unfortunately there is no  Rant-n-Rave section this week for fans of that segment.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

This week, after a slight delay of game thanks to rain and technology, the File-N-Forget podcast ignores the GTA IV release hype and instead focuses on two games that might interest folks who are not mindless GTA obsessed zombies. Iron Man the Game and Viking: Battle for Asgard. Sure Stephany dinged Viking pretty badly in her impression, but Ron quite likes it and talks about why.

The Rant and Rant section of the episode features Ron talking about how World of Warcraft can fail while Shawn bitches about bitchy women.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

Its a shame to see a promising game begin to falter. Last week’s announcement regarding server consolidation for the recently launched Pirates of the Burning Sea MMORPG might not be the best sign that the game is doing well. Regardless it sparked a discussion between Ron and I about why MMORPGs fail today and thus this week’s Podcast was born. Then the topic moves to my recent trip to Chicago to meet with Wizards of the Coast about the future of Dungeons & Dragons. If you’re interested in more info on D&D 4E be sure to check out The Analog Gamer.

The rant and rave section of the podcast features a rant at a very special audience and Ron implores Sony to fix the horrible problems with the Playstation Store and its downloads.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

This week we purge the unclean from the podcast and discuss just where that Kane guy was during the lull between the 1st and 2nd Tiberium War. Our topics are two recently released RTS games – Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath and Dawn of War: Soulstorm. Join us for approximately 24 minutes as we talk good and bad and mostly great things about these two expansions. Additionally , Ron rants and I rave. Good Times. I almost apologize for the use of the word orgy in the podcast’s metadata too.

You can check out my “impression” of Kane’s Wrath as mentioned in the podcast here. And here is a link to 1Up’s official network review  of Kane’s Wrath and Soulstorm as well.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

We may be bad company for some after this weeks episode of the File-N-Forget podcast.

Thanks to the graciousness of Electronic Arts, Shawn Ron and Gaming Today PR Czar, Daniel Perez all had an invite to play and discuss the Xbox Live! Beta for the upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company. We cover what impressed us and what didn’t and even got to enjoy Ron’s pained Rant about finally shelling out the cash for an Xbox Live! Gold membership.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

The prodigal podcast returns this week to talk about an inflammatory subject – Copy Protection. Is it the root of all evil? Does piracy destroy lives and murder children? Ron and Shawn discuss it at length in light of the success of Sins of a Solar Empire and the death of Iron Lore studios.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

The ever popular Ron Whitaker returns to primary hosting duties, relegating me to sidekick and comic foil this week, but in a File-N-Forget first we invite some developers into the virtual studio for an interview. Jason Faller, President of Silverlode Interactive and Marketing Director Slava Zatuchny talk about the first Massively Multiplayer Real-Time Strategy Game: SAGA.

The gentlemen describe how they brought the RTS genre into the MMO realm, what their overriding goal is in creating the game they always wanted to play and quite a few hints of what is to come in the future for this newly launched game. I’d write more but my darned peasants are being lazy in Brekton and have to be put to the whip again.

Not sure what SAGA is? You can find out more at www.playsaga.com

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

After a week break, Shawn and Ron return for the 22nd installment of the File-N-Forget podcast. This week the topic is MMOs and the impact that players have on developer decisions. Our hosts discuss the upcoming changes to World of Warcraft and the proposed change Blizzard later reversed to the Warlock Lifetap ability because of player outcry. Star Wars Galaxies of course gets brought into the fray when the discussion turns to examples of where developers chose to ignore the fans and the consequences of that decision.

What impact do you think players have on persistent games and their development? Should players be more or less involved? Post your opinions below.

This week we also introduce the “What are you playing and why?” segment.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

This week the File-N-Forget podcast returns with Ron Whitaker and Shawn Sines discussing the wonderful new 4X/RTS hybrid Sins of a Solar Empire from Ironclad Games and publisher Stardock. We bypass the “Guess the Game” segment this week but as usual Shawn has a Rave and Ron continues to Rant.

This weeks show is available by direct download here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.

File-N-Forget is also available on the iTunes Music Store.

Oh and if you’re looking for the official 1Up review of Sins you can check it out here for another opinion on the game.

 A little delayed but File-N-Forget Episode 20 has roared across the finish line.

This Week Shawn asks Ron about the most recent Burnout Game: Burnout Paradise and his opinions of the series transition to an open world racer. We also have a new “Guess the Game” this week as well as a Rave from Ron and a Rant from Shawn about Rock Band and DLC.

Congratulations to last week’s “Guess the Game” winner S.T.A.L.K.E.R for his correct answer of Beyond Good and Evil, an underrated title that should not be missed (if you’re a GameTap subscriber you can play it now as a matter of fact.)

You can grab this week’s episode here.

As always, you can get past episodes from our podcast page at http://podcast.filefront.com, and you can send your comments, questions, suggestions, or snarky comments to podcast@filefront.com.