Massively^™

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week we're all about the Epic Dolls podcast. A unique title by an all-female cast, it's really interesting to hear the occasional gender-specific spin on the World of Warcraft. Most of the time, though, this group talks the talk that every WoW 'caster does - and they have the epics to prove it. This week they're pumped about the WWI information, and are getting ready to take on Kara in advance of the Lich King expansion. Tune in!

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week we're going to revisit a highlight from a previous roundup. DDOCast is still well worth listening to, providing unique insights on a terribly under-rated game. This week, though, you've got to check it out even if you're not a Dungeons and Dragons Online fan. The reason? Buzzsaw's fantastic look at GUILD DRAMA and how to handle it. The bottom line: it's about the people, stupid!

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

The featured podcast this week is a brand new addition to the VirginWorlds Collective! Called EQ IQ, it's all about the venerable EverQuest and its newfangled comrade-in-arms EQ2. Make sure to check out Brad's highly informative first episode and episode two for info on quest running and collecting. It's well worth checking out.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week we'd like to single out the Official SOE podcast as well worth a listen. They're zany, they're kooky, but the Community Team at Sony Online Entertainment has the in with all of your EverQuest, EverQuest 2, Vanguard, etc. etc. needs. Check out their backlog of episodes for some really great content and more hampsters than you'd ... you know, initially think.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

With all the Warhammer news on the site this week, I thought it might be good to highlight a topical newcomer to the podcasting scene. Though we mourn the hiatus of Warhamma, The Greenskin's ChaosCast is a welcome addition to MMO podcasting community. Blogging wunderkins Keen, Syp, and Snafzg got together for a thoroughly enjoyable hour of Waagh!-related discussion. Make sure to check them out, and read on for the full week's update.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

Today we'd like to highlight a podcast that really needs no introduction. The late, lamented Games for Windows magazine had (in our opinion) probably the best podcast over at the 1up network. Though they're now running the PC games site for 1up instead of a print mag, the show goes on. Regular hosts Jeff Green, Sean Molloy, Ryan Scott, and Shawn Elliot wax philosophic each week about PC gaming, nerd TV, comics, books, and occasionally MMOs. Well worth a listen even when our favorite genre isn't on the table, it's a part of 1up's stable of generally great podcasts.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

Well worth listening to this week: Massively Speaking's fellow VirginWorlds collective member Voyages of Vanguard. VoV is one of the oldest VirginWorld podcasts, and has gone through a number of hosts over the years. Current hosts Luper and Beau have a great rapport, and are willing to really go at it in conversation if need be. This week they've got a huge argument going on the concept of raiding; thought-provoking and well worth giving a listen to.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week it's well worth mentioning the entire VirginWorlds network of podcasts. Started by Brent Lassi and the VirginWorlds podcast itself, the network now plays host to some 16 podcasts ranging across the entire spectrum of MMOs. If you're an MMO player, you're going to find something in the network to like. Lore, PvP, raiding ... all your bases are covered. They've even got a guy talking about about how you can interact with folks better IRL. It's worth noting that in my off hours I contribute to the collective via my personal site. So ... I'm biased.

It's still a great site, and you should definitely check it out.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week I want to make it a point to mention the Van Hemlock podcast, the audio companion to the really excellent Van Hemlock MMO blog. Hemlock and his cohost Jon take on the world of MMO titles with a quirky attitude, an educated perspective and (most impressively) a British accent! If you've at all enjoyed Hemlock's writing in the past, you'll equally appreciate his verbal impressions of the genre. Very much worth a listen.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

Our spotlight this week rests on The Instance, a fantastic World of Warcraft podcast that reached 100 episodes this past week. They've been going strong since January of 2006! Back then they were talking about the Ahn'Quiraj event and rumours of which races would show up in the Burning Crusade expansion; my oh my how time flies. Make sure you stop over and give their hundredth show a listen - well worth your time. Congratulations!

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

It's been a bit since we did the last podcast roundup, so there's a lot of great audio programs out there worth highlighting. Only one - a long running and very venerable reprentative of the MMO playerbase - closed up shop this past month, though. GuildCast saw its last episode go up on Tuesday, March 4th. Hosts Shawn and Lady Sinea made it through a massive 96 shows, covering everything under the Arena.net sun. Their last three episodes are well worth listening to, and I especially recommend their discussion of what Guild Wars 2 will be like. Good luck to Shawn and Sinea on their other podcasts and with future projects.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

Our highlight this week? Massively (sorta) has its own podcast-ish-thing. It's called Turpster Vision, and it's the work of the man, the myth, the legend from the WoW Insider Show and WoW Radio. His first episode ("Dancing in the Endless Forest") went up on the site just this week. And trust me, as someone who has walked in that forest and still doesn't understand what the heck is going on there, it's well worth watching. And did I mention it's funny?

On to the podcasts ...

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week I want to highlight a podcast that deals with things both reptilian and subterranean. Specifically, DDOcast. These folks are dedicated and connected, and the result is that every episode features some in-depth information you'd only be likely to see if you were embedded into the Dungeons and Dragons Online forums. They consistently have great information from and on the developers, and have a special knack for telegraphing their enthusiasm to the listener; their appreciation for the game is infectious.

This week is especially worth listening to, as they have a great interview with tabletop RPG designer Keith Baker. He was the original developer of the Eberron setting, the world in which DDO is set. He unveils some great information on an upcoming project probably quite dear to DDO players, and shares a few of his own thoughts on the game. A great listen, and well worth fitting into your day.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

Something happened this month that only occurs roughly once a glacial cycle, and I want to make sure to point it out: WoWcast put out a new episode. Not only that, but Alachia (WoWcast host) has updated twice since the beginning of January. I kid cuz I care, you see: the last time Alachia put up a new episode was in September, in the wake of BlizzCon, so it's been a pleasant surprise to hear from her so much in 2008. Her show is well worth listening to, despite the infrequent updates. She has a soulful quality to her solo discussions of in-game events, a contemplative tact that makes for some really thought-provoking stuff. Without a doubt one of the most interesting World of Warcraft podcasts out there.

To be honest, she's just a touch emo. But I mean that in the best possible way! Go check out some greatest hits, like her discussion of discussion of the 'realities' of virtual living, a heartfelt discussion of gaming addiction, and a fascinating audio diary celebrating BC's launch day.

There's plenty more 'casting goodness below, so make sure to read on.

Every week, hardworking Massive gaming fans put their voices on the line to bring us news, opinions, and 'critiques' of their favorite games. Podcasts are a staple of many hobbies nowadays, and fans of online worlds are especially fortunate in this regard ... there are a ton out there.

As such, every so often we'll try to update you on the podcasting world. Keep your eyes on this space for links to your favorite MMO-commentary celebs. Good and bad, straight-man or blue-mouthed, they all have something to offer about this amazing style of gameplay.

This week I want to highlight two 'historic' podcasts: one historic from the standpoint of an 'event' and the other historic because it's easily one of the most respected 'casts out there.

The Maelstrom podcast is quickly becoming sort of an insane 'newshour-style' roundtable discussion. I had the pleasure of participating in Episode 19, and this latest is just huge; a full nine people sat in for a discussion about MMOGs that lasted for an epic amount of time. Beware - there be blue-mouthed people here.

VirginWorlds, on the other hand, is a stiff-upper lip look at the news. Hosted by Brent, the mastermind behind the VirginWorlds Collective, it's a reliable and (mostly) dispassionate weekly dip into the latest Massive gaming information. Of course, we like you coming here too.

If you're not already listening to VW ... you should be. This is, of course, the last roundup of the year. I've only done three other roundups, and less frequently than I wanted ... but consider this the first weekly podcast roundup. Meteor storms and inclement weather allowing, I'll be back next week (year) with another update to the MMO podcasting world. Until then, enjoy the list.