Don’t forget you can check us out at iTunes by subscribing here! And why not Digg/Stumble etc. us while you’re at it! Just use the handy-dandy links down the bottom. Also, feel free to add us to your Skype in anticipation of future interractive features!

Podsafe Music by George Wood – “8 BIT Junkie”, The Cheebacabra – “Metamorphosis”, “Push” and “Zagreb”.

“Doctor Mario WITH LYRICS” arranged/performed by brentalfloss, Dr. Mario “Fever” & “Victory” composed by Hiro Tanaka.

All other music and audio subject to fair use and copyright of their respective sources.

It’s always fun to try out a new feature on the fly, so check it out! It’s another slow week, so that means plenty of discussing how Dave is spending his money… WARNING – PATHPIX IS ADDICTIVE! We also tackle the divide between Single Player and Multiplayer; Fat Princess dropping this week; Ubisoft vs. Piracy on the DS; Why a therapist wants free World of Warcraft; New movie deals; The Joker and why Andrew is in love with him; and a slew of Nintendo shwag!

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/sewers-gameplay-tmnt-turtles/52739

Don’t forget you can check us out at iTunes by subscribing here! And why not Digg/Stumble etc. us while you’re at it! Just use the handy-dandy links down the bottom. Also, feel free to add us to your Skype in anticipation of future interractive features!

Podsafe Music by George Wood – “8 BIT Junkie”, The Cheebacabra – “Metamorphosis”, “Push” and “Zagreb”.

Dave is sick so Andrew calls in the heavy reinforcements… FORM OF A SHANE! We tackle the obsessions of the week (can you tell what?), deal with the news of the week, slim pickings on releases and general madcap fun!

Podsafe Music by George Wood – “8 BIT Junkie”, The Cheebacabra – “Metamorphosis” and The Cheebacabra – “Push”

Podsafe Music by George Wood – “8 BIT Junkie”, The Cheebacabra – “Metamorphosis” and The Cheebacabra – “Push”

Podsafe Music by George Wood – “8 BIT Junkie”, The Cheebacabra – “Metamorphosis” and The Cheebacabra – “Push”

One recent change has set guild officer heads spinning, with a global outcry from the general WoW public shouting about unfairness to those who dedicate real time to the game. The change entails the addition of items to raid bosses that will bind to your character when they equip it (BoE items as they’re referred to) as opposed to the long-standing bind on pickup (BoP). I can understand where these people are coming from, but really, it’s all just about ego and pride. No longer will an item from a boss seem quite so “epic”, but these are just the woes of an individual… I worry about Guild implications.

What follows is a response I penned in regards to this issue to our guild and I hope it gives pause for thought for other guild officers out there:

The official line by Blizzard is a sensible one. They want to see raiding guilds benefit from their dedication by rewarding them with extra cash-flow pathways, spoils for Alts or other raiders who immediately benefit (i.e.. improve the guild ASAP) etc.

But… it’s the social knock-on that is problematic. For example, we’ve downed BT up to Illidan, but realistically we only earned up to Bloodboil (pre patch, I believe we’d have had Bloodboil and RoS soon regardless), but we’ve also not gone out there and made out that we’re pimp as hell for getting to Illidan – we know the score. Many other guilds have ruined their reputation by flaunting kills that they know they would have otherwise needed more practice on. Similarly, when the Sunwell badge gear came out, people were considering themselves to be top-shelf when all they had to do was farm heroics daily and receive T5-T6 quality gear for their effort.

In other words it brings a risky social stigma that will really only affect people who are guided by their ego’s. And let’s admit it… many high-end players take great stock in their ego – I know mine is cast-iron, but I’m not above saying “Sure, I didn’t really earn it”.

What matters is what is done with these items. If people get them just because they can… then that’s their prerogative, more cash to the guild coffers. If people get them thinking it’ll help their applications… then only get it because it’s a worthy upgrade and don’t make out you actually killed the boss unless you really have. That second point is a huge issue for a guild application process because they’re going to have to know what items are BoE and ways of verifying actual experience – generally a trial-run will fix things right away, but how do you sift out the chaff from the wheat?

It’s not the end of the world, but it generates a hell of a headache for raiding guilds in general. As some posters on the WoW forums have noted, Guild loot rules will now have to consider this extra condition for loot. Those that are running on a point based system (like DKP) will have a hell of a lot more to worry about than those who already “roll on BoE drops”, but it’s another WotLK issue on top of already changing Raiding rules.

The WoW community can make a mountain out of a mole-hill, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t real problems with the concept – they just require more time and effort to incorporate.

Feel free to link this to help with any guild-disputes you might be having, officers everywhere need support when dealing with large numbers of people and any help you can get is invaluable

Consider this more of a warning than an endorsement. Inflicting World of Warcraft upon yourself may have serious long-term affects including a severe loss of free time. This is something many people already know. Inflicting Bejeweled upon yourself may have serious short-term affects like not getting your TPS report in on time or forcing the IT department to shut-off free internet access.

Combine the two? Now you’re losing the free time you have inside the game that is eating away at your free time. Now it’s causing you to relish longer flight paths over more convenient methods of transport (possibly causing you to skip a zepplin ride or three). Now your guild, which should be concentrating on killing this last boss-mob of the night is worried that their score might be bumped because someone died and they have a chance at beating it as they lay on the cold floor.

Grab it at your own risk, but be warned: Excess use may result in temporary bans from raiding with your guild or getting a group in general!