No, we didn’t get to go to GDC, but we do talk about Link on a Train (actually, we really just talk about the new kid on the block, OnLive). Mike, Eric and Jenni discuss Storm Rise, the PS2 price drop and some other fun stuff. This week’s Music Monday steals the show with Highlights from Ocarina of Rhyme, a cool remix/mashup by TeamTeamwork featuring music from Zelda: Ocarina of Time and accapella work from some of the world’s best MCs… including a new never before heard track!

If you enjoyed this week’s special edition of Music Monday, read the full article, Music Monday: Hot Tracks from Hyrule.

1. No Random Battles

The number of RPG’s still employing the archaic genre convention of random encounters seems to have decreased dramatically over the past decade, and Persona 4 makes the final case against them. While there was a time when I thought the absence of random battles in Japanese RPG’s would be the end of the genre itself, planned encounters significantly decrease frustration in a game where even simple encounters can be challenging. Even though the Dungeons in Persona 4 are little more the randomly generated corridors, the option to try and sneak by enemies or face them head feels much more rewarding then having to go into a battle every 6 steps.

I had such high hopes for Sonic Unleashed when I first heard about it. The first videos and screenshots reminded me of Sonic Adventure for the Dreamcast. Now THAT was a Sonic game. Fast paced action and platforming made it an excellent addition to the franchise. That’s the next gen Sonic game everyone’s been looking for. Something that takes all of the things that were great about the older games in the franchise, and brings them into this generation of gaming. Unfortunately, Sonic Unleashed isn’t it.