1UP Yours - A Video Game Podcast

1UP Yours is a podcast from the people at 1UP.com - one of the more prominent gaming press sites, although not as huge as IGN or Gamespot. This is unfortunate, because 1UP seems to be more advanced than either of those sites, with their letter-based grade system and their 21^st century web design. The site’s forward thinking is demonstrated in this podcast, with host Garnett Lee starting thoughtful discussions and being honest when it comes to interviews, previews, reviews, and his audience. The cast has been switching around lately, but I believe that the general mindset of 1UP’s employees will keep the discussion at the high level that it has always been at. I listen to many video game podcasts, some of which feature annoying rants and aimless, off-topic discussion. This one stands at the top of the heap.

1UP Yours Podcast Page

The Spore Creature Creator

Spore is the brainchild of Will Wright- the man behind one of the best-selling video game franchises ever, The Sims. Players begin the game as a small microbe trying to absorb other microbes and eat food. As it grows into a full creature, the player can design the creature and watch it react and adapt to its environment. The game goes from this small, molecular level to a level in which civilizations of creatures are interacting with others. It's received a lot of hype, and it's due out this September. The Spore Creature Creater is a pre-release utility for the game, giving players access to the design utility of the game, which has been pushed to its limits to create many familiar characters. I have to say, these are impressive. Some of my favorites:

Master Chief:


Kirby:

Yoshi(this guy did the eyes really well):

A house(2D genius):

Big Daddy:

Mario Star:

Pikachu(this one's pretty good):

Ice cream!

While we're still on pokemon... Celebi:


A goomba:

Pizza?

The Cloverfield Monster:


And my favorite creation, a breadstick: