1up.com - Active Time Babble

Kat, Bob, Jeremy, and Christian Nutt embark on Active Time Babble's final quest. Join them as they talk about Etrian Odyssey IV, the unexpected 3DS RPG renaissance, and the future of the genre.

Kat, Marty, and Bob sit down to talk about Mass Effect 3, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Xenoblade Chronicles, Diablo III, and many of the other notable RPGs of 2012. Which ones were the best, and which ones fell short? Find out!

Was the Wii secretly a great console for RPGs? Kat, Bob, and Marty look back on the Wii's RPG library and look ahead to the future of the Wii U.

Gamasutra's Christian Nutt joins Kat to talk Pokemon, and Kotaku's Richard Eisenbeis checks in with the latest Japanese releases.

Kat is joined by GameSpy's Mike Nelson and Dan Stapleton, as well as Polygon's Phil Kollar, to talk Torchlight II, Diablo III, Guild Wars 2, and Mists of Pandaria in this all-PC RPG episode of Active Time Babble.

Kotaku correspondent Richard Eisenbeis joins Kat to discuss Dragon Quest X and Last Story, and Bob and Marty talk Darksiders II and the classic Super Mario RPG.

Kat, Bob, and Jose are joined by IGN's Eric Sapp to have an honest debate about the most prickly of topics--Kingdom Hearts. The crew also revisits The Wold Ends With You and Phantasy Star Online!

Kat, Jeremy, and Bob get together to discuss Persona 4's Kanji Tatsumi, and the portrayal of LGBT issues in RPGs in general. Indie RPG dev Robert Boyd also drops by to chat about his newest project--Penny Arcade's On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3!

Contributor Kat Bailey reunites with 1UP's Jeremy Parish and Bob Mackey to discuss Dragon's Dogma, which may be one of the most satisfying RPGs of the year. And, of course, Eric Sapp, Mike Nelson, and Dan Stapleton drop by to discuss all things Diablo. ATB is back!

GamePro's Jason Wilson joins Kat and Scooter to wrap-up GDC with a look at upcoming MMORPGs for 2011 before offering a final verdict on Dragon Age II. Afterward, stick around for an interview with Deus Ex: Human Revolution's Jean-Francois Dugas & David Anfossi, and a fond farewell from Kat as she bids goodbye to 1UP.

With her comrades busy getting ready for GDC, Kat bravely strikes out on her own once again to finally decide whether or not she hates Dragon Quest VI (Spoiler: She doesn't). Also on tap for this week is Valkyria Chronicles 3 discussion, and a chat with BioWare's Mike Laidlaw!

What's the proper way to say "Dragon Age?" Both Jeremy and Scooter show how it's done as they join Kat to chat about both BioWare's upcoming sequel and the Tactics Ogre PSP port. Whichever game you prefer, you will most assuredly leave this episode with a better appreciation for epic enunciation.

In the most "xtreme" episode of Active Time Babble to date, Kat, Travis and Mike Nelson offer the final verdict on DC Universe Online, and it isn't pretty. Before that though, Atlus' Aram Jabbari joins Kat and Jeremy in the studio to discuss the upcoming Radiant Historia while taking questions from listeners. Yes, we do take the time to ask about the whereabouts of 7th Dragon and its ilk. We ask because we care.

Scooter and Justin join Kat for a 2011 RPG Preview in the first Active Time Babble of the New Year, where they discuss Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, The Old Republic the general lack of Square Enix RPGs and Pokemon musks. Also, Kat bravely goes solo and takes questions while discussing Kingdom Hearts Recoded and the newly-announced Super Robot Taisen Z2. Will she be successful, or did she disastrously split the party? You be the judge!

It's the final show of the year, and sugar-addled adventurers Kat, Scooter, Travis and Jeremy sit down to talk about the best RPGs of the year. Nier, Infinite Space, Resonance of Fate, Costume Quest and more all get their due as ATB closes the book on a blockbuster-filled (but perhaps flawed) 2010.

The latest World of WarCraft expansion has arrived; and Kat, Mike, Travis and Justin form a raiding party to plumb its depths. Scooter also drops by to chat about the newly-announced Elders Scroll V and Mass Effect 3, as well as his expectations for the upcoming PS3 port of Mass Effect 2. Listening to this episode is worth at least 50 DKP.

We're a good two weeks past halloween, but Kat, Alice and Justin are indulging the spirit of the trick-or-treat anyway with a discussion of Double Fine's excellent download RPG Costume Quest. Jeremy Parish also stops by to chat about Radiant Historia and Tactics Ogre, and Mike Cruz and Scooter geek out over comics while chatting about DC Universe Online. Whether medieval, superhero or halloween, there's a lot of costumes in this episode.

Kat, Mike and Travis dive headfirst into Fallout New Vegas spoilers this week, picking up where they left off last week. How does this spinoff ultimately stack up to the original, and do the bugs really detract from the experience? Kat's also joined by Scooter and Justin to talk about Fable III, where it becomes apparent that Scooter enjoys turning orphanages into brothels. It's not easy being king.

A while ago, we talked about the state of Japanese RPGs following the release of Final Fantasy XIII. Now, with heavy hitters like Fallout New Vegas hitting the market, Bitmob's Jason Wilson join Kat and Travis to gives Western RPGs the same treatment. What's the definitive PC RPG? And can we expect more of what we saw in Mass Effect 2? Mike Nelson also stops by to share his early impressions of New Vegas. We're going nuclear!

Kat, Jeremy and Justin get together to do a quick wrap-up of Tokyo Game Show, then settle down to chat about the newly-released Pokemon Black. Is the latest excuse to market 'em looking like a major improvement over the last generation? Our heroes login to their spreadsheets to find out.