02/05/07 - Episode 15

Virtua Calamity?Should a game reviewer be allowed to review a product when they were involved in its development, however little? Last week this question came to the forefront as word came that characters with attributes selected by editors from IGN, Ziff-Davis, Wired's GameLife (and others as well) will be included in Sega's upcoming Virtua Fighter 5, and that some of these same editors will be the ones reviewing the product. But it's not an isolated incident -- game journalists are sometimes listed in the credits and special magazine/website unlockables have been included in finished games before. How do these effect the review process and now that the VF5 incident has come to light, is it being handled correctly?As usual this week we begin the show by talking about the games we've been playing. This time that includes discussion on Viva Pinata (Xbox 360), The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii), Parodius Portable (PSP), Salamander Portable (PSP), Picross DS, World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade (PC), Phoenix Wright (DS) and Fuzion Frenzy 2 (Xbox 360).We also go into a few topics that've been in the news lately -- the leakage of the Dead or Alive movie on YouTube, Uwe Boll's Postal movie trailer, Microsoft's new rules for Achievement points and downloadable content, and the remake of Dracula X on PSP, which also leads to a short talk on how Sony's positioning the PSP ("It's a babe-tracking system that also plays Parodius").And of course we finish out this episode discussing some of the feedback we received from last week's show. Keep leaving us comments (via e-mail, comments on our web site, iTunes, Digg us, Skype us at playeronepodcast) or leave us a voice mail by calling 713-893-8069, long distance charges apply. Thanks for listening, tell your friends, and we'll be back next week!Links:Viva PinataLegend of Zelda: Twilight PrincessParodius Portable (Japanese)Salamander Portable (Japanese)Picross DS game page (Japanese)GameSetWatch: Mario's PicrossWorld of Warcraft: Burning CrusadePhoenix Wright: And Justice For AllFuzion Frenzy 2DOA: Dead or Alive movie1UP.com: Postal trailer debutsNew rules for Achievement pointsDracula X Chronicles game pagePSP commercial, where're the games?Joystiq: IGN developing content for Sega? 1UP contributing too?1UP.com blog: If you've ever wanted to kick my ass, now you sort of can. Meet: Milky Pai.1UP.com blog: Full disclosureGame|Life: Virtua Figher 5: My characterThe Cover Project digg_url = 'http://www.digg.com/podcasts/Player_One_Podcast'; digg_bgcolor = '#FFCC99'; digg_skin = 'compact';