This week Ron and Jens return to talk about Groundhog Day, freaking on Andie Macdowell, Jessica Chobot, Netflix, and playing real life Wall Street Kid with THQ. We also talk about games such as King Arthur: The Role Playing Wargame, King Arthur 2, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, SWTOR, Monster Galaxy and Puzzlejuice.

We also announce our contest, where we are giving away 5 copies of The King Arthur Collection on Steam, courtesy of Paradox Interactive. You can view the contest details here.

Join us every Wednesday for game discussion and general nonsense, and please talk a moment to tell your friends, and leave us a review on iTunes.

Thanks to the fine folks at Paradox Interactive, and to celebrate the recent release of King Arthur II: The Role Playing Wargame, we are having a King Arthur themed contest. We have 5 Steam copies of The King Arthur Collection to give away, and all you have to do is make us laugh, with a twist.

To enter, all you need to do is send us your best King Arthur (or Paradox Interactive) related joke, limerick, haiku, song, Photoshop, or drawing in MS Paint. Feel free to be as creative as you want and express yourself as you see fit, just stay within the theme of the contest.

Email us your entries with your name and town to podcast@groovygamer.net by 7:00 PM EST on February 8th. We will read the entries on the show and announce the winners. Any pictures sent in as entries will posted on the site with that podcast we record that night.

Tune into the Groovy Gamer Podcast this Wednesday (February 1st) as we talk about King Arthur, and the contest some more. Subscribe to the show in iTunes and get your entries in to win a copy of The King Arthur Collection, courtesy of Paradox Interactive.

Don’t forget to make us laugh.

Here is a trailer for The King Arthur Collection we are giving away.

Here is the trailer for the recently released King Arthur II: The Role Playing War Game.

Well ya know brother, this week Ron and Jens are joined in the squared circle by the Video Game industry nasty boy himself and President of Beefy Media, Adam Boyes. We talk about professional wrestling, next Xbox rumors, Zynga controversy and answer a listener question. We talk about a lot of games as well, such as: Kingdoms of Amalur Reckoning, WWE 12, Saints Row the Third, Unstoppable Gorg, Recettear an Item Shop Tale, Asuras Wrath, Lair, Starhawk and iOS games. AND THAT IS JUST THE FIRST HALF OF THE SHOW! In our second segment, Jens sit’s down and talks to Jostein Hakestad from Radcrew.net and the Radcrew podcast to talk about more games and Game On, a travelling video game exhibit.

Join us every Wednesday for game talk and random discussion, and you never know if a game developer will show up to do a Bill Cosby impression.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes, leave a review and tell your friends.

Follow our guests on Twitter. Adam Boyes @TheBooya and Jostein Hakestad @Jossteinhh

While Ron is off working on a double secret review, Jens hosts the podcast and brings along special guests Annie Dennisdóttir Wright and Ian Miles Cheong from Gameranx.com. They reflect on Dinner Date, Heavy Rain, Limbo, Pathfinder (Dungeons & Dragons 3.5), Homefront, and The Killer. They also discuss news and topics currently in the zeitgeist, such as the state of SOPA, THQ’s troubles, communal patronage through Kickstarter, and diverse approaches to games journalism.

Join us every Wednesday night for real game talk, tell your friends, maybe even review us on iTunes. That would be awfully nice of you.

This week, Ron and Jens return from vacation to talk about a great many games. We cover Star Wars: The Old Republic, Super Mario 3D Land, Hard Reset, The Darkness, Duke Nukem Forever, the Azura’s Wrath demo, Bejeweled 3, Dinner Date, and a whole bunch of iOS games. We talk about some news, speculate on new consoles and go off the rails as usual. Join us ever Wednesday for video game discussion and rants.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes, leave us a review and tell your friends.

1.) Saints Row: The Third

Saints Row: The Third is as much a spoof of the open world crime genre as it is the logical culmination of what Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas started: a sprawling sandbox with little to no basis in reality, full of surreal scenarios and absurd activities. With this game, Volition and THQ celebrate ludicrous, over-the-top fun and variety in ways I have never before seen. Whether you’re engaged in a lengthy firefight while in free-fall or in a chase involving horse buggies pulled by gimps, there’s always something new and outrageous right around the corner. Humor is particularly difficult to pull off in a video game, but Saints Row: The Third frequently made me laugh out loud with its razor-sharp writing and the spot-on comic delivery of its cast. Also, as with Saints Row 2, you again have the option to share this crazy experience with a partner in co-op mode, and that is more fun than I can possibly describe in words.

2.) Portal 2

When Valve announced they were developing a sequel to the critically acclaimed Portal, I was skeptical. It is unarguably a difficult game to improve on: a concise, self-contained first-person puzzler with unique yet easily understood game mechanics, wrapped in a narrative so witty, it has spawned countless Internet memes and permanently lodged itself in the popular consciousness. Creating a “bigger and badder” sequel seemed a risky approach for Portal, yet it is precisely what Valve accomplished. Portal 2 features a lengthy story mode that is nonetheless perfectly paced, fleshes out its characters, backstory and world in fascinating ways, and manages to exponentially increase the complexity of its puzzles without causing frustration, introducing fun new tools such as portable light-bridges or gels that make you bounce around like a rubber ball. These tools truly shine in Portal 2’s challenging cooperative campaign, which requires tremendous teamwork, coordination, and lateral thinking. Solving puzzles with a friend, both of us simultaneously experiencing revelatory “Ah-ha!” moments and breaking out into hysterical laughter, is one of my favorite gaming memories of 2011.

3.) Star Wars: The Old Republic

Before Star Wars: The Old Republic came along, I’d never gotten hooked on an MMO. I didn’t use to understand MMO addiction, yet in the single week of early access I’ve had to the game, I’ve already put more time into it than any other this year. While it is mechanically similar to other best-of-breed MMOs, what sets The Old Republic apart is its storytelling. BioWare has done a terrific job integrating character development and moral decisions with a solid MMO framework. When you’re playing an instance with a group, everyone gets to participate in the cutscenes, and as a result it feels more like traditional pen-and-paper role-playing. Much of the story content can also be completed solo. Thus, when you don’t feel like being social, you can easily play it like a traditional single player game. So far I’ve completed the early game content for the Imperial Agent, the Bounty Hunter and the Smuggler, and each of them have engaging, well-written stories that effectively motivated me to care about the quests I was working on. There’s an impressive amount of highly polished content that I can’t wait to further sink my teeth into.

4.) Catherine

I love anime, dating sims, and puzzle games, but would have never thought to combine them in the unique way the Atlus Persona Team did with Catherine. It has thoughtful things to say about the give and take of relationships, fidelity, personal freedom, and responsibility. The protagonist, Vincent, who struggles with guilt over cheating on his long-time girlfriend Katherine with the younger, more frivolous Catherine, is extremely relatable to me. I was gripped by the grander story of a malevolent force making unfaithful men suffer through nightmares of pushing and climbing blocks to escape a terrible fate. Catherine’s cinematics are a joy to behold and a powerful motivator to keep playing, but I found the block puzzles during the nightmare sequences to be equally satisfying. They are challenging without being frustrating and allow for multiple paths and solutions, often dependent on which special blocks one collects or purchases along the way. A few of the later boss stages are so intense, they made me sweat profusely and sigh heavily with relief when I finally finished them. It’s refreshing to see a game that dares to be this original and that tackles an adult subject matter with such aplomb.

5.) Deus Ex: Human Revolution

The thing I adore most about Deus Ex: Human Revolution is the freedom it gives you to role-play your character exactly the way you want, not merely through a few key plot decisions, like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, but almost purely through the gameplay itself. Every problem has a multitude of solutions. Let’s say, for instance, that you need to break into a secure facility. If you’ve upgraded your cybernetic arms, you can lift a vending machine and sneak in through the vent behind if. If you’ve upgraded your hacking skills, you can hack the security officer’s personal computer to retrieve an access code. Alternately, you may want to forego stealth entirely and bust through one of the facility’s walls like the Kool-Aid man. You can play as a heartless brute, or you can play it the way I did – as an empathetic, nonviolent transhumanitarian who also happens to be a super-efficient ninja. The game doesn’t judge you based on your actions, assigning good or bad karma points, but instead bluntly presents the consequences for you to live with. Oh, and I should also mention that the story is classic Cyberpunk, the art style stunning, and the action explosive.

6.) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

With Skyrim, Bethesda have surpassed themselves. It is their most impressive effort since the massive Daggerfall: a rich, detailed world stuffed to the brim with exciting discoveries. A single quest line in Skyrim may take you longer to finish than most games, even if you don’t get distracted by the random side quests, encounters, and dungeons you’ll come across along the way. I have wiled away many hours merely exploring the stunningly beautiful world of Skyrim without making any manner of story progress, but what I’ve seen of the main story and guild quests so far has been universally excellent. Political intrigue and morally ambiguous player choices abound, and those choices have a direct and visible effect on the world. It would be a close-to- perfect roleplaying game (and near the top of this list) if it weren’t for the fact that it appears to actively resist my attempts to play it, with frequent scripting bugs and crashes. The PC version I’m playing is now relatively stable, but the PS3 version I initially tried is still completely unplayable due to memory issues and controller lag, with no fix in sight. Once Skyrim has been sufficiently patched, it may be counted among the giants of its genre. Until then, it remains a flawed masterpiece.

7.) Uncharted 3

With Uncharted 3, Naughty Dog managed to create a cinematic adventure game that is every bit the breathtaking roller-coaster ride its predecessor was. As is their custom, Nathan Drake and his companions globe trot from exotic location to exotic location in search of lost, potentially supernatural treasure. My favorites are a French chateau chock full of inventive head-scratchers, a sinking cruise liner turned pirate ship, and, of course, the fabled “Atlantis of the Sands,” quite possibly the most gorgeously detailed city I’ve ever seen in a video game. Unfortunately, Uncharted 3 still exhibits the same problems the series has always suffered from, namely fidgety controls, too much hand-holding and an over-reliance on shootouts. Though Drake claims to only take up arms reluctantly, he again murders an entire country’s worth of henchmen, which is not only patently absurd but feels as vastly out of character for him as it did in the last game. I personally would prefer a stronger focus on puzzle-solving and environmental traversal. Complaints aside, though, Uncharted 3 is still an absolute feast for the eyes and ears.

8.) Warhammer 40000: Space Marine

Here is a sadly overlooked gem. At first glance, Space Marine may look like just another generic third-person shooter, but that could not be further from the truth. If you have any nostalgia at all for the Warhammer universe, with its power-armored Space Romans and cockney Orks, this game’s fabulous production values and pitch-perfect recreation of the sets and figurines is sure to give you warm and fuzzy feelings, taking you back to many a night of painting and playing. Even if Warhammer means nothing to you at all, you still owe it to yourself to experience Space Marine’s superb, varied combat mechanics. Like the similarly underrated Vanquish last year, Space Marine’s combat is all about forward momentum. While it’s sometimes to your advantage to take cover, it is significantly more satisfying to barrel forward and replenish your health by wearing enemies down, stunning them, and brutally finishing them off, always alternating between ranged and close quarters combat. Also fantabulous: riding a jet pack high into the air, only to slam back down into a large group of Orks, briefly incapacitating the lot of them, and then triggering one finishing move after another. SHPAYCE MUHREEN.

9.) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Ghost Trick is one of the most original and inventive adventure games I’ve played in a long time, with a unique puzzle mechanic that is perfectly contextualized in the plot. You are Sissel, a recent murder victim who realizes he can save others from suffering the same fate by traveling precisely four minutes into the past and possessing inanimate objects to foil assassins hired by an elusive criminal organization. Sissel’s spirit has a limited range, so the puzzles become as much about reaching the next object he must manipulate as they become about figuring out what the final outcome of the scenario needs to be. Thus, the scenarios soon turn into elaborate Rube Goldberg machines that are tremendously fun to figure out. The puzzles are only half of what makes this such a damn fine adventure game, however: as with Shu Takumi’s previous series Phoenix Wright, Ghost Trick tells a compelling mystery story, with a memorable cast of characters (most lovable of all: the Pomeranian “Missile”) and uproariously funny writing. This is also one of the prettiest DS games I’ve ever played, with strikingly designed characters, smooth, distinctive animation and lovingly detailed environments.

10.) Dead Space 2

The first Dead Space was a triumph both of encounter design and UI design, a title that felt so polished, balanced and comfortable to control, one would be hard be hard-pressed to improve on it. Nonetheless, Dead Space 2 manages to evolve the concepts introduced in its predecessor in interesting and gratifying ways. The controls are further streamlined and the tools and weapons feel punchier and give more visceral feedback. The Sprawl, the vast space station Dead Space 2 is set on, feels like a real place that was once vibrant and full of life. The game does a terrific job of showing you just what life on the Sprawl was like before it was overrun with Necromorphs, and thoroughly fleshes out the backstory of the Unitologist Church and their worship of the Marker. It also boasts memorable and challenging combat scenarios. An all-around first-rate game.

Honorable Mention: ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection

It doesn’t qualify to be on the 2011 list because it is technically an HD remake, but the ICO/Shadow of the Colossus Collection is such afantastic release that I simply had include it somehow, if only for finally making two of the greatest games of all time playable at a framerate that doesn’t make me want to violently strangle myself with piano wire. This is precisely how classic games need to be treated: up-resed to 1080p and running at a smooth 60 frames per second, but otherwise preserved precisely as they were. Both ICO and Shadow of the Colossus are rightfully beloved for communicating resonant stories with almost no dialogue whatsoever, evoking strange and wonderful emotions, making one weep over sins never committed, and mourning tragedies that are not one’s own. If you care at all about games as an art form, you owe it to yourself to play this collection.

Other games I desperately wanted to fit on this list, but couldn’t:

L.A. Noire, Batman: Arkham City, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Rayman: Origins, Sword and Sworcery, Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken, Bastion, You Don’t Know Jack.

1.) The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

There are times when you have an unreasonable amount of expectations for a game, only for it to fall short of the bar you set in your mind. Skyrim not only met my lofty expectations, but exceeded them by an order of magnitude. All of the tweaks, upgrades and enhancements that Bethesda made in this follow up to Oblivion, not only makes it the best Elder Scrolls game, but one of the best RPG’s of all time.

2.) Catherine

Catherine is a game that will stay with me for a long time. Atlus showed that you can tackle very mature subject matter and not make it cheesy or gratuitous. The story telling and puzzle game play combine to deliver something that is entirely Japanese, but delivers a tale that resonates with anyone who has ever been in a relationship. The voice acting is perfect, and this game treated me to possibly the best ending to a video game ever (If you played completely bad).

3.) Star Wars: The Old Republic

I have a very hard time getting into MMO’s, and only one (FFXI) has ever held my attention for more than a few days. Bioware has made a game, that feels like it was made for just me. I have not been able to stop playing since early access, and with 8 classes to fully explore, I expect to playing this game well into 2012.

4.) Dark Souls

From Software should be applauded for having the balls to make such a difficult game in a time where developers try to handhold their audience at every turn. The key here is that not only is the game hard, it is fair. If you die, it’s your fault, plain and simple. Frustration goes hand in hand with some of the most exhilarating moments you will experience in a video game. Sharing tales of your experiences with other Dark Souls players leads to finding out tricks and tips you may never have thought of as well as hidden secrets and treasures you may have missed. This throwback to older times in gaming earns it’s spot.

5.) Portal 2

Outstanding writing, pitch perfect voice acting, and ingenious puzzles make Portal 2 one of the best games this year. I was worried that Valve wouldn’t be able to pull of a full length follow up to the bite sized original Portal, they proved me wrong and I will never doubt them again. Great co-op and developer support after the fact only adds to the reasons why this is a must have title.

6.) Rayman Origins

Side scrolling platformers were something I really enjoyed as a kid, but grew out of as an adult. Michel Ancel’s masterpiece has brought me back in to the fold in a big way. Your senses may be assaulted by candy coated visuals and Insanely addictive music, but the star of the show is the precise controls and perfect level design. Rayman Origins is a joy to play no matter what age you are, and deserves to be in every gamers library.

7.) Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

In a campaign that mimics a Hollywood blockbuster movie, the big surprise can be summed up in one word, closure. Your journey through World War 3 with returning characters Soap and Price comes full circle in a fitting end to a trilogy that I personally loved. Bittersweet and satisfying, if you played the first two, you must see how it all ends. A few new wrinkles are added to the addictive multiplayer in modes such as Kill Confirmed that makes it another stellar entry in FPS genre.

8.) Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I am a sucker for anything that nails the Blade Runner vibe, and Deus Ex nails it perfectly. That being said, the actual game is pretty damn good too. I really like having the choice to play a shooter/rpg hybrid in any way I see fit, and your free to play this any way you choose. Playing as a pure stealth character is fun and satisfying, and transforms Deus Ex into a puzzle game more than a shooter. I could have just summed up why I loved this game in one word, hacking.

9.) Saints Row: The Third

Lets be clear here, I hated the previous Saints Row games, and had no desire to play this game prior to it’s release. Friends convinced me I had to play this game and i am glad I did. Saints Row: The Third has maybe one of the best character creators around, and combined with some of the best voice work anywhere, gives you complete ownership of your guy or gal (in my case). This game is crazy in every way possible and surprisingly, it all works perfectly. i was sold during the car ride when the Sublime song started playing.

10.) Bulletstorm

The lead up to the release of Bulletstorm could not have been worse, everything Epic showed about this game made it look corny and shitty. Had it come out during a crowded release window, I wouldn’t have played it, but boy am I glad I did. It starts out slow, and grates on your nerves in the first few levels with cringe worthy dialogue and poor storytelling. Once it gets going though, all is forgotten and forgiven. The characters become very likable and the story has some great twists that by the end, I really wanted another Bulletstorm. Fortunately the ending sets that up perfectly. Truth be told, I liked this game better than any of the Gears of War titles, and that’s saying something.

As tough as it was to make this list, I have to give an honorable mention to 5 other games that came so very close to making my personal top 10. In no particular order, they are: Bastion, Iron Brigade, Dungeons of Dreadmore, Dead island, and Might and Magic Heroes VI.

I really look forward to what 2012 has in store, I just hope the Mayan thing is wrong and we get to actually play the new consoles that will be announced at E3 2012. Happy New Year everyone.

This week Ron and Jens are tormented by evil spirits as they look back at 2011 and towards 2012. We talk some more about Star Wars The old Republic and Super Mario 3DS. Something strange is afoot in what may be our dumbest podcast yet, but we do as were told in order to bring you a bonus track at the very end of the show. As always, join us every Wednesday night for our own brand of humor and gaming discussion. Happy New Years everyone. See you in 2012.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave us a review wont you? Don’t forget to tell your friends about us as well.

This week Ron and Jens return to talk about Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. We detail our crazy weekend playing with Beefy Media’s Adam Boyes and Disney Interactive’s, semi conscious John Vignocchi. We try to persuade a listener to the dark side of the force as well as celebrating Festivus. Join us every Wednesday for more video game discussion and general nonsense.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes and leave a review for us, won’t you?

Spread some Christmas cheer and tell your friends about us!

This week Ron and Jens return to rant about the Spike TV Video Game Awards, bad random players on Xbox Live, and Origin’s payment methods. We talk about Apples to Apples, Skyrim, and Driver San Francisco. Jens also has some sales he thinks you need to know about. Join us every Wednesday night for shenanigans and mithkabobs.

Please subscribe to the show on iTunes and help us out by leaving a review and telling your friends.