Unlocked

It's only fitting that we interview Steve Downes -- the voice of Master Chief himself -- on this special 117th episode of the world's #1 Xbox podcast. Steve talks about getting the role of a lifetime, his first video game voice work (hint: it wasn't Halo!), the end of Halo 2, if he thought he'd be replaced after Bungie left Halo, and much, much more. It's a 35-minute interview you won't want to miss. Plus: a major Xbox One launch game gets delayed...to a place that might end up being much tougher.

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With Destin and Marty at New York Comic-Con, Ryan and Mitch invite Naomi and IGN Tech editor Scott Lowe onto the show to discuss this week's Xbox news -- including the Xbox One GameDVR functionality, Microsoft's begrudging acceptance of the "Xbone" nickname, Call of Duty: Ghosts news for Xbox 360, and more. Plus: learn what our personal killer apps have been over the years, and we unexpectedly learn everyone's respective man-crushes (or in Naomi's case, woman-crush).

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Though it barely works yet, Grand Theft Auto Online has already yielded a couple of great stories for the Unlocked crew. Plus, Marty doubts Destiny's spring 2014 release date and the rest of the cast debates him about it. LucasArts pisses us off even after its death, and we share our earliest memories of video games blowing us away in this week's "Get to Know Your Locksmiths" segment.

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In this week's nightmarish trainwreck of a podcast, Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, Mitch Dyer, and Marty "Tardy" Sliva show you why Podcast Unlocked is the #1 Xbox podcast. GTA V and awkward banter dominate the beginning of this week's show, which ravels out of control as the team gets into this week's news and releases. Destin is maybe only kind of present as he teaches Chop tricks on his iPhone.

It's been a weird week. Join us for the madness, won't you?

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As Grand Theft Auto V drops, Mitch, Destin, and Marty are all traveling, and so Ryan recruits the awesome Naomi Kyle and IGN boss-man Steve Butts to discuss the impact of Rockstar's newly fallen meteor. How does its five-year development cycle make it a different (better?) game than Assassin's Creed's and Call of Duty's annual releases? Does Naomi think the game is misogynist? And will GTA ever have a female protagonist?

Plus: News on Ryse, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and how sports games are cursed every year.

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This week, Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, Marty Sliva and I (sorry, I'm back!) dig deep into our depressing pasts to discuss games that got us through tough times. Then, we debate the Steam Family Sharing vs. Xbox One's original plan.

Also:

• Valiant Hearts
• Child of Light
• Xbox One's leaked Dashboard
• SPORTS!
• Seriously, a bunch of sports, we promise it's interesting.

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Hilariously, we recorded this podcast Tuesday afternoon thinking Ryan would be out of the office Wednesday. He's not, and of course Microsoft announced the Xbox One release date before we could post the show. So here, as a record for all time, are our final predictions for the release date. Laugh at how wrong (or right!) we all are. We also talk about Microsoft buying Nokia and what it means for Xbox, Grand Theft Auto V impressions from Ryan (who played it at Rockstar's office in New York), Minecraft's unstoppable growth, and special guest Jose gets genuinely offended by the protagonist of LocoCycle. We have an intelligent discussion about it.

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Get to Know Your Locksmiths takes a very dark turn this week as the crew returns from the Gamescom convention in Germany and contemplates what their last meal would be. We cover The Elder Scrolls Online's attempt to circumvent longtime Microsoft policies, this week's mixed bag of new Xbox 360 releases, and our favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles thing ever.

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Ryan, Destin, and German Unlocked fan Ben talk about Gamescom and their thoughts after playing titles like Titanfall in this special Gamescom Unlocked episode.

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Naomi Kyle joins locksmiths Ryan, Destin, and Marty to discuss a whole bunch of Call of Duty news, including a serious discussion about the depiction of violence against women in games. Plus: the Xbox One launch gets scaled back. This one's for you, Europe.

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Ryan McCaffrey, Marty Sliva, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie can hardly keep it together during this week's podcast, which has next-gen Xbox news, awful jokes, amazing impressions, and a discussion about id Software, Wolfenstein, and Oculus Rift as we prep for next week's debut of Call of Duty: Ghosts' multiplayer.

Also, we take a listener question for the intro of the show and discuss our off-topic hobbies.

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This episode goes out to anyone named Phil. This week, the Locksmiths look back on their college years, and then dive into the Xbox news by discussing Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison's Xbox Showcase event at Gamescom next month, Phil Fish's meltdown and Fez 2 cancellation, Xbox One accessory pricing, Kinect Sports Rivals' delay to 2014, and Bobby "Not Phil" Kotick buying Activision back from, well...itself for $8 billion.

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The Locksmiths welcome back new co-host Marty Sliva from Comic-Con while also greeting a couple of new IGN staffers: former 1UP.com editor Jose Otero and new Wikis & Guides guy Jared Petty. The crew discusses a major Xbox One policy shift for indie gaming, the new Kinect, the Oculus Rift, and more. Plus: another round of Get to Know Your Locksmiths.

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With Marty at SDCC, Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie discuss Xbox's new boss, changing IGN comments culture, and the news of the week, which includes Forza 5's mandatory connection, NCAA ditching EA Sports, and Killer Instinct's excellent Kinect functionality.

We also learn a bit about each other, geek out over Pacific Rim, and more.

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie discuss the highs and lows of Xbox One now that the dust has settled. But with Microsoft failing to bundle a headset with the console, is it making a grievous mistake? This is a console that's meant to connect players together, after all.

Also this week, IGN digs into the Xbox One's release date, Halo as a "saga," Thief's Xbox 360 port, and whether Project Spark is worth your attention.

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Download Podcast Unlocked Ep. 101: Xbox One's Headset Problem  (MP3)

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E3 is over and we have a ton to talk about, so buckle up as your Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie go over Titanfall, Killer Instinct, Ryse, Halo 5, Quantum Break, Dead Rising 3, and more Xbox One and Xbox 360 games.

Also, road trip stories.

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Finally.

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With Ryan out, Mitch Dyer and Destin Legarie recruit Rich George and Marty Sliva for an off-the-rails (and spoiler-free) discussion of BioShock Infinite. From there, the Locksmiths hit on Battlefield 4's disappointing reveal, the magic of Fables (and Telltale's potential in the upcoming Wolf Among Us game adaptation) and the future of Far Cry.

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PODCAST!

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie, and Mitch Dyer return to discuss new games for your Xbox 360, new Xbox 360s, and games for the next Xbox. Xbox games, indeed.

Also this week:

Age of Booty is awesome.

Bad Googling.

Summer gaming.

Gears of War: Judgment.

PC gaming.

RTSs.

Join 

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Xbox Live Operations overlord Eric Neustadter (maybe you know him as "e") joins Locksmiths Mitch Dyer, Destin Legarie, and Ryan McCaffrey to talk about the history and evolution of Xbox Live. Eric shares stories and secrets about how the whole thing operates, what happens when you complain about awful users, what an always-online console would do to the Live team.

E sticks around to co-host and converse about a bunch of stuff this week, including next-gen games, the rumored Assassin's Creed IV, Gears of War Judgment's VIP pass, and this week's...hilarious releases.

HEADS UP: For whatever reason, this awesome episode was sabotaged by the mysterious ghosts that plague the IGN podcast room. No static this time, fortunately -- it just sounds like we're inhaling a whole lot of helium while hanging out and chatting.

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Greg Miller joins Locksmiths Mitch Dyer, Ryan McCaffrey, and Destin Legarie to talk about the future of...PlayStation. In this next-gen special, we talk all about the future of games according to Sony -- but fear not, Xbox faithful. Everything to do with the now-unveiled PlayStation 4 has drastic ramifications on the Xbox's future. 

What can Microsoft learn from the console and event? What do we expect to see and when? Who's going to be involved when the Xbox comes out of the dark, and what surprises do we anticipate?

All this and more, right here.

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After a brief hiatus, we return to talk the abysmal failures of Aliens: Colonial Marines, the massive potential (but lack of convincing evidence) for Bungie's Destiny, and this week's new releases, including Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and Crysis 3.

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This week Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie dive deep into a discussion about the future Xbox console and its alleged always-online functionality. What does it mean, and is it a good thing? All this and more, including Dead Space 3 discussion, a new Assassin's Creed game, Red Box on 360, and Vanilla Ice.

Yup.

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Grand Theft Auto V joins Splinter Cell Blacklist in the summer/fall release window, but are either of 'em coming to next-gen consoles as well? Locksmiths Mitch Dyer and Ryan McCaffrey make an on-air bet, while Destin Legarie plays with scissors.

We also answer your emails, dive deep into the future of PlayStation, and bring a new Meta-Achievement for your conversational pleasure.

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The Locksmiths break down the THQ auction/dissolution, talk about the new Splinter Cell: Blacklist CE, and wonder about who's going to end up with the Darksiders franchise.

Also this week, Ryan interviews Double Fine's Ron Gilbert for, like, a freakin' hour. So if you want to listen to two smart dudes talk about The Cave, adventure games, and other awesome stuff, block out some time.

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie go over Splinter Cell Blacklist's delay, NBA Baller Beats' predictable failure, and the Dead Island Riptide debacle. 

Also in this episode: 

Mitch is back from a mystery trip full of misadventure.

Ryan narrowly survived the siege of a nasty stomach bug. 

Destin's head is on straighter than ever. Finally.

You can change your Xbox account region.

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It's our first show back from a break, so Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Destin Legarie and Mitch Dyer have a lot to talk about. Topics this week include:

• THQ's stuff is for sale
• Books
• More Far Cry 3 impressions
• Destin doesn't know anything about video games
• Your emails, and a new Meta Achievement
• And much, much more!

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Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, Naomi Kyle, and Maggie the Boxer talk about the promise of God Mode, the depressing THQ news and what it means for the future of its games, as well as read some of your year-end emails. 

Also included:A dog eats a leash.

Naomi and Mitch get super Canadian.

Free games, Xbox Live discounts, and technology failures.  

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Mike Drucker joins Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie to talk about the rise of Assassin's Creed, Spartan Ops, the VGAs, The Walking Dead, Halo tournaments, writing jokes for video games, and having terrible stand-up shows.

Y'know, the usual. With more profanity this time.

We'll miss you, Mike Drucker. Rest in peace.

I mean, good luck.

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey and Mitch Dyer pulled aside Telltale Games' PR overlord Job Stauffer for a talk about The Walking Dead during IGN's Judgment Day event. Topics include Walking Dead's explosive popularity, how it took over Twitter, and the future of Telltale on Xbox 360.

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie talk about Disney buying Lucasfilm, the disappointing Assassin's Creed III, Halo 4, and if military games give gamers the wrong idea about war. 

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Locksmiths Ryan McCaffrey and Mitch Dyer bring Naomi Kyle on board for a bit before Destin Legarie returns to his rightful Unlocked throne. David Ellis from 343 Industries stops by this week to tell us about is crazy career path, from politics to prison guard to games press -- the long road to designing Halo 4's Spartan Ops campaign, essentially.

Big topics this week include:

Wreck-It Ralph - We saw it, we love it.

BioShock Infinite's absurd special edition.

Your emails, Dishonored, and whether or not games have been "dumbed down" in recent times.

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Ryan McCaffrey, Mitch Dyer, and Destin Legarie gather to talk all about Cliff Bleszinski's departure from Epic Games, the failure of NBA Live 13, and the beginning of fall's game release onslaught.

Other hot topics this week: 

Terrible puns.

Rockstar's killer game collection.

When you can read our Halo 4 review.

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Yep, you read that right…

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No jokes here, the show's just good this week.

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Randy. Gosh darn. Pitchford.

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We don't understand it either.

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