880: Theatre Kid Energy

Hey everybody, It's Tuesday, March fourth, twenty twenty five. Welcome to the Giant BombCast, Episode eight hundred and eighty. I'm your host, Jan Ochoa, and I want your soul. I want you to be mine. I feel the goosebumps. Baby, I'm geting in these arms.

The matter is.

Flowing through me because of these gentlemen, A signed, not a sign, sitting next to me, virtually next to my soul, and I need yours.

No, captain, the ship is also here, Jeff Cowdy hid everybody? Oh are Canadian? Means bad at counting down from ten? Or a wrestling fans bad at counting down from ten?

Why was the counting down?

He could not keep in time an elimination chamber. They would start on time and then by the end they were saying like one and it would still be saying like three because they were counting too fast.

It's like when Cesarro did the swing and then he would swing five times and people would count to you know, twenty, Yeah.

Yeah, people, they were done. Just bad account. It's wrestling fans, okay, yeah, it's a white says Nicky and Shadow, our man.

On the street talking all things. Numbers he's he's counting with the folks at home. He may or may not have figured out that count from Sesame Street is about counting the record.

No, let me be clear here, I knew he was about counting.

I did not realize it was a count Dracula, Like, did that's Hanson explain the count Dracula thing while we were watching Elimination Chamber And I was like, Oh, that's incredible.

He counted.

That's obvious.

Now why wire counts called counts.

It's like a honorific.

Yeah, But like for like, what are they in charge of?

I bet I know, I bet I know what they're counting.

Go for it.

No no, no, no, no, no no no, we haven't introduced you yet.

Yeah you can't. I'm pretty sure it would. I'm just guessing, honestly, the county. Are they in charge of a county? Like count like in the way that a Dutch like a duke is in charge of a duchy?

Is it a wine thing on our own?

Travis Scott, he's got the rage sage the Rock is bringing him out and wrestle Mania. He's gonna punch Cody Roads a little too hard in the head, like Manati it's still real to me.

Damn it. Hello, it's me. It's Mike Manati.

So tell me about counts. Why do you think counter counts?

Well, I mean count is definitely just like another word for a lord or something like that, So.

Of a manor of a castle, right, what? Well? Yeah, but why do they have a cat.

Because they're rich?

Okay, that's you could just have a castle because you're rich, often though you're given it by the government in the olden times, and it's because you are the lord of that area and you have governmental responsibilities in report to the king.

I was thinking about castles a lot yesterday because Grubb kept talking about entrapment.

Sure, is there a castle and entrapment into a castle with lasers?

M Oh yeah, okay, yeah, is that the butt laser movie?

It's the Butler.

If you say what is the butt laser movie? Unlike Jeopardy, the answer is what is entrappmant? If you google butt laser movie? Do I'm certain.

Not justage search butt laser movie.

Movie?

Okay, human centipede came up real first, mostly human lasers.

Okay, well, I suppose I did not count the human centiped What if.

You added in quotes Catherine Zaida Jones. Well, that's just a movie and human Centipede. I have not seen it.

No, no, man, what a weird movie. I watched a flick last night where it's called the Gorge and Miles Teller with kilometer teller. Yeah, yes, yes, a kilometer teller and Anya Taylor Joy.

Uh.

They're guarding a gorge and it's bad stuff in the gorge. It was. It was one of those movies.

You said gorge, but I kept hearing my brain gorge. I'm like, what do you mean? They're guarding like a pumpkin, like.

Just some squash? Is I enjoyed that more?

To be honest, is line is gonna come and like expect gifts from it or something?

What's the issue?

Gorge is a good word, right, that's a fun absolutely, yeah, it's top ten word, maybe.

Just rounded into it. Then you have the commissioner from Batman.

Hey, how many syllables are in the word gorge?

One? One? One, yes, just one, just one. This is not going to be a thing syllable open shut.

I've thought way too much about the oil one.

The oil one is two yes, fire, okay, one, But it's the way I say it because if I were to fire, that's two. That's definitely yeah. Yeah, how's everyone doing, how's everyone going? It's a Tuesday, it's a it's a Jeff Grub. It's very dark where you're at.

Yeah, my my gatto Key lights power supply tried to kill me.

Uh so I am let me kill you.

Well, it just got very very very hot and stopped working, So I'm assuming something in there went bad and the like. After it stopped working, it didn't stop getting hot. So I'm like, oh, eventually this thing is going to just catch on fire. So I pulled it on the wall and we're good now safe, but it's dark and I'm scared.

It's incredible that there's not just a switch to turn it on.

Yeah, I mean that's a whole other thing right where it's like there is a switch to turn it on, but then it turns off immediately until you then go to a computer.

Yeah, it's really stud Oh. I bought a pizza steel yesterday and then I never felt more swindled in my life that this is just like a piece of metal.

But I'm steely, like the thing in Indiana Jones he was finding.

Oh that's a cooking thing.

Yes, cooking thing I bought the news. Oh sorry, no, no, no, please, I want to hear.

I was just saying, I caught onto the latest trend I learned about in cook culinary arts from Mike Manatti.

The cast iron pan.

That's a bad the new trendy thing. Cast iron man I forgot. I said that, like, what are you talking about? You a professional chef, and he roundly mocked you for it. No, all I was saying was that they were getting like really glazed up for a bit there. Of course, cast iron pants pan, Mike, it's not glazing. You wouldn't glaze.

I'm learning about the seasoning and stuff. Yeah, because now I'm doing I've been doing all the cooking stuff and I always soon beat the chicken and they're like, oh, you can't see it.

I'm like, that seems like a whole lot to do, just to you know, you're just eating unseared.

I was, and it's fine, it's not bad, but I am seering now. I don't see it about my putting them into tacos or something like that. If I'm just like shredding it up, I don't see it. But I've started searing it. With some canola oil and stuff and a cast iron pan before I make it. I made some par green beans.

That want the new oil? Wait what sorry, go ahead, Jane, No, you unlocked the new oil.

Dan. First it was just alive, then avocado. Now you're a canoe.

Well no, because all have has a lower smoke points. So the thing is, actually, what have you done? My curiosity knows no bounds, Jane.

You should know, that's what they say.

You know, you have a lot of hit, like a lot of like history, like seasoning things. You had that shoe box. You seasoned the hell out.

That's true.

Yeah, I just I can to afford a cast iron pan. Now that new stuff.

That chicken you weren't searing, did it have the skin on?

Stell?

I do boneless skinless, Okay, then that's fine. If you weren't searing skin on chicken, that would be crazy.

Oh uh no, No, I haven't done that. Just I'm sure it's better with skin on, but it's also a lot more calories.

I never get the skin on one, and everyone's like, the skin's the best part. I'm like, maybe you're right, it's also the hardest part to cook, and like the part that's maybe not as No.

No, here's what you do, boys. You you get the skin skin chicken breast and you rip the skin off, you throw the skin in an air fryer, make your own little chicken skins.

Crackling.

Yeah, what crackling is is krackling just like fried animal skin.

I think so for the most part, don't don't don't quote me on that.

I didn't get an ad for BUCkies. I don't think there's any BUCkies around me. And they have like they just sell like the fried chicken skins. And is that that's just the shoot chicken skins fried? I mean pork wines is just fried U right, pig skin?

Yeah.

I saw a story about Buckney today. Apparently they were gonna build the first one here later this year and now got moved back to like twenty six.

Now.

I don't know where in Ohio, but right I hope near me because I went to the new Loves that they open up here, and it was like I had an amazing time there. I almost like I almost wished I was a trucker. The vibes were sood it's good.

Yeah, I'm like, I I walk into a place like Loves and I'm like, I walk, I go to the bathroom, and then I see the other hallway. It's like showers, like really clean showers. I want to take a shower at a gas station. And I don't know why I think that, but I really do.

There's like a PA system saying when like number forty or four, yeah, your turn, use the shower.

I'm like, they're so lucky.

I think there was a novelty to uh to like showering in a place that you normally don't.

Like.

I feel that way, like airport lounges, Like when I sliming back to Tokyo, I was there like four hours early and there were just like showers in the lounge and.

I was like, I just want to take a shower at the airport before I get Yeah, like crazy.

Yeah, and like something planes and stuff, if you depending on like what class and stuff, you shower, Like each passenger could.

Get one shower during the flight. I've never done that.

Yeah, it's like shower in the seven eighty seven kind of have that.

Yeah, if I want a plane shower.

That's a lot of water desk beyond the plane to shower.

Limited They limited by time and again each personally gets one, and obviously not everyone does it. So what if, like we just banked our time together, I might be found upon two p who if we're in first class godliness?

Are you saying a shower together?

Yes?

Well I don't want to.

Do you guess? The gas station is like the new meta. Have you guys been to a Walmart recently?

Shockingly, no, I don't have any near me.

Okay, I went to the Walmart the other day and the first thing you're greeted with now is a small like it's basically a gas station inside a Walmart quick convenience where it's like a several roads of like of energy drinks, water, gatorade, snacks, the kind of stuff you would see in a gas station. And I'm like, this.

Rules in store.

I mean, if it just feels that way, it just feels it feels like they took the aisles from a gas station and copy and copy it and pasted it inside of putting all the.

Essentials right away. Right?

Do they like checkers?

Is there a dedicated checkout or like self service?

No, but it's right it's right next to the to the self checkout.

Too far from the entrance anyways.

Adjacent to that. Yeah, so it was just like, oh they've this is like you know, psychology. Apparently men really like gas stations. So I think they're just like, we're gonna put this here for them so they can like have the you know, maybe spend a little bit more money.

Remember how like the entertainment sections of like the Walmarts and Targets used to kind of be walled gardens, right, Like it was kind of a store. In the store, you can only go in and out one way, and there was a separate checkout for it. Also, like you want to buy a game, may mean that feel real special. You don't remember it, Jan, I don't have a Walmart. Well it's not as Walmart like like Target had that. Toys r Us had the whole different thing where it's just the window.

For sure, little oh the tickets.

Oh but not evenen. We went to the toys arrest here at the Mall of America, they didn't have that. But it seems like they had no physical get.

They had no video games. Like they were almoly, Like we can't sell vegans anymore. Nobody nobody buys video games at stores. We just have to sell shoot toys because you can't download Lego yet.

Right, Hey, your question for y'all. I went to a speak since we're talking about big box stores. I went to a cost co over the weekend.

Here.

Oh yeah, trouble chocolate chunks.

Junk double chip or something double doublenkie there.

And you know, say you are the person scanning the items, right, Like generally at a costco, you'll load some items on the conveyor belt and then you put the cart behind the cashier and they'll like scan the items. Right, what would you do if there's just a child that won't move and is still in the cart, but there are items covering the child? Wait?

Wait say this again you were I'm I got the beeper, I'm okay, right, and then like there's a bunch of items in a cart and covering a child that will not move.

The wait, the items are covering the child or the child is covering the items.

The items are covering the child and the child's not moving because the child.

Is on an iPad.

Oh protective services, Oh my god, yes, please let this focus.

This sounds insane.

What the.

I mean?

There's that that's a baby under there, that's like a like a six year old.

How where's the where's the six year old? Six year old's head?

Is it underneath the toilet paper there?

Yeah?

Oh my god, oh god.

I mean listen, we all love to be crushed. I mean, come on, I get it.

You know I've never understood you too more than just now. This is this normal Ohio stuff to be Yeah, of course, Jit, I've never been to a Walmart. Is shocked.

I've never thrown a kid into a basket in a cart and just like you know, whatever has happens.

The coast me?

Is this like because like I used to be the one to always like if we're going to the bar and we had a full car in college, I was always the one to be like, all ride in the trunk and I would just get like in the trunk, shut it, and it's just a fun, little like cozy, like this is my little trunck spot.

Is it like that feeling like anti clophobia?

Yeah, okay, I.

Definitely like recently been like I'm gonna pull the blanket around me pretty tight and get like really tightly. I think it's kind of like that, just like outside pressure pushing on you. Everybody always pushing out.

I do you think kids have gotten like really bad at like walking around in crowded spaces, like my brother's nine year olds. Even they're nine. He's like, I can't just let him walk around and a target. Still they just trip all over themselves and bump into things. They still can't handle it. Yeah, I think we should be dancing more as a society. I think this would solve a lot more things. I get a foot going up in here.

Yeah, let's let's add a little bit of whimsy. Speaking about whimsy, you know it's whimsical. Games, Yes, Mike Manatti.

Got it at won. Can you imagine if I said something like now ribbon dancing would be It is whimsical.

So yeah, video games, Mike Manatti, you win the ability to talk about the first game today, and that is Uh, we've talked about this a lot on this website. Actually, Uh the Thing remastered.

Yeah, I played through my fundishment from one Jeff Grubb, who is the superior hole digger kind of the superior.

Giant mole dodger to be honest. But whatever the reason, he won, so he had all of us played the Thing, ring Master. I played through it in two settings. It's nice to have a good two setting game by the way, But.

Yeah, this was originally PS two original Xbox era kind of mix of an action game with Survival Whop got remastered by Nightdive recently. We talked about it a bit, but I really did enjoy this game. I have so much love for that era anyways, And you know, Dan, it's kind of like when I was watching you play Syops yesterday on Riker's Roulette. I love these PS two era games that are doing something pretty interesting. They even games today are still kind of trying to do maybe as well or maybe even.

Just half as well. And the thing has some interesting AI Squadron stuff with people freaking out and worrying like, oh, the Thing's gonna get me, so you have to calm them down by giving them a weapon or giving them a shot of adrenaline, for giving yourself a blood test to show that you're not the thing.

Yeah, exactly, Like all that stuff is really neat, and there are some areas where it was kind of puzzling, Like there's is one level where you get captured and you lose all your guns, and there's a very specific sequence you sort of need to do of Okay, I got to dodge the thing and get the medic and then dodge the thing again and go to this other place, and then.

I lured the thing into the medical room and there's a lot of stealth involvement.

That was definitely the.

Hardest part of the game to because that took me up the longest time. Would literally the weirdest game to race in. Oh, yeah, it would be a weird one. Yeah, be a very weird.

I also kind of want to see how all four of us would problem solve like the thing at the same time.

Like a weirder game to maybe like Papers Please, would be a weird race game.

That one situation you do mostly just shoot the thing, uh. Like.

The game's pretty generous with Ammo and things like that. It's like the survival horror element of it. It's it's not like a resident evil or a classic resident evil, right. Sometimes it is more about your squad uh and just telling them what to do. It is funny, like because just like in one of these games, your squad members never survive very long either, they'll get turned into a thing. Like you're supposed to test them to be see if

Yeah, I just kept them around until they freaked out, and then I just flamed throard them, like use your times.

We talked about The Thing remastered a bunch in uh during Revengeance. I have a question for you two and grub you as well. What developer studio would you trust with a game like The Thing? Now?

You know what, I know this is a lofty one, but like looking at what rock started with, like the Warriors, where it's like the rock Star is obviously a big team that has a lot of reverence for movies and music and things like that, and I feel like I would trust them if they cared enough to make a game based on a movie, they're gonna do it right, Like the Warriors game was like that's kind of what you would want a Warriors game to be like, So maybe then.

Okay, I mean obviously the Alien hot uh, the Alien Isolation people at Creative Assembly could do something there right, Uh.

By Randy Pittford and the ALIENA you go, right.

I had the wrong Alien game.

Yeah, that wrong one. You look like a real asshole.

Stupid dumb dumb who's the saber interactive?

Is kind of I think a realistic one that I think it would be pretty good at this they do John Carpenter game. Uh, they're doing a bunch of games.

They might be that Jurassic Park game that we haven't seen since they announced it. But it looks really cool in the announcement.

Looked at meat.

Yes, yeah, and Evil Dead the game and all that stuff.

Yeah, it's a toxic Commando or something, the Carpenter one, which Carpenter like he does his likeness appeiors in the game.

Right.

It was so clear that this game was made by people who understood and cared about the film. Because I feel like, especially back in those days, there's so many just licenses that just got sold to Acclaim or whoever, which we'll talk about in a bit, it's just like okay, here's just like it's got the likeness or just the general plot points around. But like this one, it's like, okay, they are clearly trying to incorporate the distrusted and the testing and all that stuff from the movies.

So I like, yeah, it was.

Trying things, you know, and a lot of it like worked, like some of it like nothing didn't work. Some of it was maybe just not as consequential as it could have been. But and the vibes were very good, especially early on when you are like in those locations straight from the movie, like, yeah, this feels like.

The thing, This is awesome.

Yep.

Yeah, it was a fun one.

I kind of look forward to the next punishment and maybe and I'm not king shaming there if you are too at home, Jeff Grubb, you talked about this a little bit yesterday on Game Mess Mornings soon to be named, but I'm very curious to hear more about Claire Obscure Expedition thirty three. Yeah.

I think it's I think it's really good. It's a lot of fun. They know what they have and they focus on that and they make all that stuff as good as possible, that being a really snappy, fun combat that has a lot going on, and all the stuff going on doesn't feel like too much. It all just

That sounds so hot.

I think turn based g RPG fans are gonna be very horny for this one.

I know it is.

It looks even I am interested because it's like the ones I have been able to get in are the ones that have that actual components of timing and dodge, maybe paper Mario ma Mario Luigi, that type of stuff. And I watched tam and Lucy's video and game spot about this, and just seeing the scene you actually aim with the gun and just the way the back and forth looks looks really snappy and stylish.

So I think I'm gonna give this a real shot.

Yeah, I think there's a chance, Like Dan, you're going, I think you the things you will be turned off by is it's so over dramatic in the way that presents itself as like a fantasy game. But I think if metaphors can be reality in the beginning, it doesn't. It doesn't do stuff like that. But like everyone's very dour and serious because they're you know, people dying and

Yeah, but those are the two more linear term like Final Fantasy games, and there is a difference found Fantasy thirteen is just like straight hip walk down the corridors and fight and watch cut scenes.

For the most part.

Ten has like some some branching paths and you go to a town and whatnot. Still, yes, there's more to it with ten, for sure in terms of the linearity.

It definitely if I felt very corridory to me early on, and then uh mean, yeah, I kind of throw maybe there's some branches later on. But that is I think this is a good choice cause they have a limited budget. This isn't a team that has all the money in the world, and so they're doing the thing of Okay, we can make it big and open and expansive and great looking, and it'll take a lot of time and

I think the.

Presentation is top notch. It just has, you know, a lot of extra flare to it that is in my heart. I'm like, I am charmed by this, even if I think it is a bit much.

It looks so dang cool. And if More Fantasy looked like this, I think I'd be into Wizards more.

Yeah.

Sure, I am into Wizards, and I am into JRPGs or turn based RPGs or what have you. And I am so excited for this one. It had that incredible showing at the what that Xbox event we had earlier in the year, and ever since this has kind of become one of my most anticipated games of the year, you know, like like last year we had Metaphor Refantasias, this really big JERRPG experience, and feel like this is maybe going to fill up a similar slot in a

Yep, Yeah, I think it's a It's interesting that, you know, Squenix kind of fumbled the bag with well. I enjoyed Final Fantasy sixteen, but the wider Final Fantasy sixteen or Final Fantasy audience didn't quite mesh well with it. I wonder if this might eat its lunch.

I think my opinion come like playing this was definitely like this is I think the thing that most Final Fantasy fans are asking for from squar Enix right in this moment, because you know, at when Squirens tries these other things trying to get away from the I think still the criticisms of Final Fantasy thirteen, I think that they're like, oh, you left, you threw the baby out with the bathwater, and this game feels like no, Actually, just make the stuff you were doing as good as possible,

Grob, what was the last turn? Based rpg you remember kind of digging.

I mean if obviously I liked Infinite Wealth, okay, but you know I liked I like turn based combat. That's never been my issue with with RPGs, for sure. I like turn based combat a lot.

Yeah, you were kind of getting into drin Quest eleven. I think you felt.

Yeah, yeah, Dragon Quest eleven. Yeah, I played like a good fifteen hours that that was. Now must be how old is it addy, because I played it on.

My Yeah, it's a bit. It was like twenty six six or seven years or something like that, seventeen something like that. I'm looking at like gameplayer of the combat here. It looks so freaking good.

It's just it does look like a mix of like Persona five with fun music and maybe.

Some legend of Dragoon in there a little bit. I don't know.

I mean, it's yeah, I again, the look is so interesting. I've said this elsewhere, but I'll just repeat it for this podcast. That the visuals, because of the motion capture of the like and that popping off every time you press any button, it does look like just real people on a stage putting on a performance. And then there's Persona five menus layered on top of them, like as if that if that were possible, that's what it looks like,

Yeah. Part of the combat also reminds me of Legend of Legaiago for the ps FOE.

Sometimes I get Legend of Dragoon and Legend Lagaya mix up, but they're kind of similar in some ways, not just because they both have the word legend in it. Like Kaya was the one where you like almost did like fighting.

I'm I'm all for other developers taking on like the Persona formula and the Final Fantasy Formula and spinning on its head because this looks really freaking sweet. When is this coming out in a month?

I think it's the end of the end of aprilish Holy shit, I am so, I'm so excited for this, Greg.

Were you any were you able to get any inkling of what the story is like and why it's called Claire Obscure?

Yeah, yeah, this is so. This is not spoiler. It is the setup to the game. Every year a like a witch, a witch or something called the painter, something like that paintress. I think she paints a number and that number right represents everyone of that age and they will die. So there is an expedition sent out to stop this witch and kill her. I believe to kill

I think that's what it is. I'm thirty thirty.

Yeah, there for you. And the tone of the game is, you know, fantasy for sure, very gruesome. Early on, there are piles of dead bodies and a room with like heavy red light just to let you know, yes, yes, that is blood everywhere that you're seeing, and the character you could tell us like having a this is traumatic for him, and he's like silent because he can't talk and you know, then the friend comes along, it's like, no, you got to pick yourself up and let's get back

That's going to be like the first JRPG ever where there's no party members under the age.

Of thirty.

Infinite wealth.

Oh you're right. If well, how old was the girl? I think she was a little bit younger.

She would late twenties.

Yah, get her out of here.

Then. Yeah, I don't know, Mike, there's definitely some older, older characters. I don't know, if I've seen any people.

As a real JRPG, there would be like thirty six, they would call him old man Charlie.

All right or something. Isn't the new Daredevil show.

I believe, Yeah, we'll see I watch it.

Speaking about fantasy settings. I briefly checked out Nights in Tight Spaces, Oh right, sequel to Fights in Tight Spaces, and I never checked out the original game. I feel like it'd be up my alley because it's like loosely tiles, loosely tactics, and I really wish that I enjoyed this game more.

It is.

You have a small map and it is run based. It's a roguelikes, so you have like the branching path of where to go, whether or not you want to take on a combat mission, visit a blacksmith to upgrade your cards, or just some miscellaneous random chance encounters, unlock some treasure, heel up, recruit new party members, et cetera. But like the flow of the combat, I'm not really clicking with just yet, and I don't know if that's because I'm kind of growing fatigued with card based games.

Perhaps maybe I enjoyed fights and tight spaces, but I did not fall in love with it. And this sounds pretty similar. Maybe I'll give it a shot and see. Yeah there's a no Elex Deborrow loved fights and tight spaces.

Yeah.

Yeah.

There was like a combo system that I couldn't quite a momentum system I couldn't quite wrap my head around. And then just some of the UI stuff just felt a little clunkier than it had to be. And I feel like, you know, switching between party members has just been so streamlined in other games that the way it was handled in Knights and Tight Spaces just felt clunky. Speaking about nights, they're generally knights in and cavemen and

Bunch of museums, all of my museums, and two point Museum. I talked about this game a bit. Today's the official release state. There's like a lot of big games right now, big games coming out, and a lot of very good ones. I'm enjoying them, but this Two point Museum is my game. I am playing a ton of this and just having so much fun, almost like getting up in the morning be like, well this is a day I'll be able to play more Two point Museum and being happy about it.

A reason to live exact.

We can't use some of those these days. Gosh, it's I don't know, it's just so engaging.

It's a management sim and sometimes in those maybe you have a lot of downtime you're just waiting for things to kind of happen, But there's always something you can be doing some little minmaxing thing reorganizing the museum, or just being like, well, I should decorate the security room so that when like the security supervisor comes in, maybe I'll get a little bonus because he's really impressed that I put up some extra security screens in there. Just

I think I'm trying to get Jeff maybe to check it out from I don't know if you're still plan with that, Jeff.

Yeah, it's the plan right now. I think the only thing I was thinking maybe might replace it as thug pro But no, I'm gonna play this because you are so hot on it when I give it a shot.

Yeah, gimmicks and it's such a The game like just eases you into the game so so quickly.

It's not a boring tutorial process. You do just start playing the game.

You know, you get like tool tips and some things explaining the systems, but it's not bogged down in that stuff at all.

Well, I'm gonna i you, is this something the kind of thing that eventually could work really well? And like iPad because this is a game I think I want to just like have with me all the time or something like that.

I'm not sure.

How about even like steam Deck steam Deck, I think.

It works on h I think it has console control so the Steam Deck I bet probably completely fine. Yeah, okay, apparently the Two Point Campus came out on switch, so consoles.

Okay, then they probably figured it out. I played all SIB seven on Steam decks.

And this game's coming out for PlayStation five and Xbox or Access, so yeah, it has console controls.

So there you go.

In my brain, these games like this and like SIB things like that that work you know traditionally PC. I'm like, well, I just got to get on the PC for that. But like, they figured out console controls a long time ago, so I should just get get on board with that.

Yeah, I've always been curious about these two point games. I was interested in two point Campus, but never actually checked it out, so I.

Never checked out the other ones either. Now, hospitals sound stressful. I don't want to run a hospital, Like what am I gonna do with all the corpses?

But two point Campus? Let the clowns eat them, right.

I feel calmer in a hospital than I do.

A campus or a museum. Really, I don't. I would lie. If I could just live in a hospital, I would do that.

What stress?

I'm about a museum and nothing stresses me out about it. It's just a hospital is just like I'm safe, you know. So it's like it's the opposite of stress. Is a hospital? Like I got an anxiety thing. This is an anxiety thing. Where's like, yeah, oh god, if something goes horribly wrong, I'm in the right place for it, you know.

I guess, I guess.

I don't want to give you reasons to be anxious of a hospital, so I'll just be quiet.

Yeah, I was just I would live in a hospital.

Yeah.

Yeah, I don't want to go down this thought train with you. You can't, Yeah, I can't. I can't descend down this, so instead I'm going to go to Jeff Grubb and go to Descenders next.

Yeah, so one game I didn't put on the list was ten eighty, which I beat last night. I went through normal hard an expert, and so I was like, man, snowboarding games rule, but they were better when it was just ten eighty and SSA like those are the you know, the arcady and the sort of arcadie sam that ten eighty is. And every time I try to look into a new snowboarding game, it never quite you know, get get it right for what I'm looking for. It's either

I love it. I love it. I have been checking it out. Everhood two. Did any of y'all ever check out the original one?

No? Everhood? Right? No, I don't ever know Whateverhood is.

So ever Everhood and Neghverhood two. It is kind of a bullet hell rhythm game.

It looks like Jimmy Stage and Warrior Ware.

Sure, yes, yes that is. That was the touchstone that I arrived to as well, Thank you. Where you're not quite hitting the notes, you're kind of avoiding them. But with some of the notes are most of the notes, you can absorb them. And if you absorb three or more of similar colored notes, So say you're getting blasted by reds and blues, and you are absorbing all of the blues, you can fire off your blue stored to power to the enemy attacking you. And there are some

Bring back points to a pas. Okay, Mike, you get twelve. Okay, yes, thank you, Okay, there we go. See see.

But it is like the absorbing factor that is and how it controls kind of feels a little bit awkward. I am intrigued by the weird story because the game starts with what feels like a personality test and then they d the color of your aura or your energy, and mine.

Was not.

It was blue, and then I'm like, oh man, I'm fucking blue.

But anyway, it's.

Trying to be undertail rhythm.

I think that is what it's going for. As someone that has never played Undertail. Still it feels like that that's what it's going for because of the like even like the text animations, and like the interactions you will have with other characters.

The enemies are like even like framed on the screen.

I'm like looking at a video now, and that was immediately what I was thinking, like, Oh, it's kind of undertail y.

Yeah yeah, Undertail.

Yeah.

One day I'll circle back to Undertail, folks. We'll get there good. But there's something about Everhood Too that just intrigues me because it feels like this could have just been a weird rhythm game, but there is also like an odd story that it feels like you were just like a kid thrown into like I don't know, like a grungy New York almost, but there's also like a

I think it is a tremendous game. What is that looper fun?

Yeah, it's like it takes two was very good, obviously, like one game of the year. I think I think the main complaint was it was just a little too long, kind of where out it's welcome. But to me, the big differentiating thing is, like, I don't know, I think it's just it looks a lot better. Not just I'm not talking graphically necessarily, although it does there too, It's

That's that was so great.

Yeah, there's crazy variety and like even like the tone, like Mike speaking of the pig thing. There's some like weirdly dark jokes in this that are not like I don't know, like everyone brings up the elephant thing, which understandably it was a weird scene and it takes too. I feel like the dark jokes kind of worked better in this, uh sure.

Because it kind of fits in with the more you know, like I didn't I didn't mind the essex of it takes two, but the maybe that tone with the the whole divorce angle and that like an.

Objective to make a child cry, like maybe that's not great or whatever.

Yeah, well well maybe right, But yeah, there's still some silliness here, Like there's one involving.

Hot dogs that's very funny.

Yes, right, and it gets kind of weird, uh, And I enjoyed the aspect a lot, but yeah, you know, it is mechanically in a lot of ways, just it takes two two with different care.

There's a bit different stepp.

I think it's a bit more kind of leaning a little bit more towards action platforming. There's still a good amount of puzzle platforming here for sure, and it's very set piece focus. There was a lot of set pieces and it takes too but this one really goes hard on that stuff and it's fantastic. And just like with that game, what shocks me here is just how good

This like old school style co.

Op couch game, more online, but I played with my brother on the couch and playing a game like that again, it just feels wonderful.

It's super neat fan.

I'm curious, were you playing as Mio the sci fi writer or as Elena Fish and Chips the fantasy writer.

I am the sci fi writer, Okay, I was a fantasy She was on the left side of the screen, so I just want.

Sitting on the right side of the cups and it was like, I'll b B. I was like, wait, nope, I'm sitting over here now. Yeah, Nikki and I had the same decision making.

It is.

It is just so smart with the way it does all the co op stuff. It's just so seamless, Like every time it's like, okay, usually split screen, but then you go to open a door and it just kind of like pans in and you know it's just one screen. And then there's whole gameplay segments too where you're both on the same screen going down a slide or something.

Yeah. There's even like little subtle.

Things that I didn't notice right away that like if one partner dies and you have to kind of do this mini game where you're jamin on triangle to fill in the circle. Just very subtly, the screen area of like the dying person just becomes kind of small.

It just kind of scoots to the.

Side, so the living character and the boss fight kind of has some more screen real estate to work with, and like doesn't make a big deal out of it, very subtle smart decisions, Like the game really moves at a at a certain clip where you're just you always feel this like kinetic energy just like pulling you forward.

Probably be like kind of like scouring every area.

It's slow things like I want see I hurry back, hurry back, I want to see if there's something here. But because there's not, and you learn that pretty quickly, whether you realize it or not, you're always just moving forward and it's just fun, fun, fun, just like shuttling you from thing to thing. It's like a huge, genuinely difficult boss fight to some chase sequence and all of a sudden, your pigs on a farm, or you're like exploring.

This like water park.

So the pacing is incredible between just like this is a tense fucking fight to like okay, kind of open area, you got to find a couple of apples, you know that type of thing.

It's great.

I think it also just communicates to the player very quickly without any like overt instructions of like all right, you move this way, you move that way, go right.

You don't have any screen tool tips, it's just obvious like yeah, like one character's got a laser sword that can kind of you know, it can tellport you to walls because you see it happen in the cut scene very briefly. The other character's a gravity whip, like yeah, it just makes sense.

And all of a sudden, Yeah, you're going through like a it's like a Attack of the Clone style speeding through a city, like I'm flying a space car and the other person like, oh, they're get a rocket launcher. I guess I'm shooting these evil cars behind us, Like yeah.

The great thing also is that each individual player has like a different experience, not just for the gameplay itself, but also when it comes to like little action set pieces where like, for instance, one of the first early ones is you as I think Mio will like dive through the helicopter and throw the pilot out versus Angela fish and chips. I forget her name, what's her actual name?

Instead of Lane, really, Joseph Ferris's other daughter is named because the guy who never really the most put himself into his game, guy ever josepheris which, by the way, the fuck the Oscars thing is also in this game.

Wait, so he's done that twice?

Now, yep, it's in. It takes two.

If you look up and I'm coming with a satellite, you hear the fuck the Oscar speech. And here there's a radio. If you go up and you tune it, you hear him saying fuck the Oscars.

Cool, Yeah, I got it. At this point, I just really respect that.

Can you believe somebody would be such a mark for themselves?

Like, oh, by the way, I watched the hands and at mid Max did a rapid fire interview with him.

It's very incredible. It's very very good.

But but going back to the individual experience part, as you were playing the game together, like Nicky and I have to replay that segment, and I was watching Nicki's screen, and Nicki, instead of like because their character is doing something different, they wound up on like the gunner position and like just bopped that dude in the head and threw them off the helicopter. It was just so cool that, like there's that small, small attention to detail for like

So yeah, this was the point where me and my brother were just cracking up because I was unlocking the fhill First, it's like you gotta swimpe and you have to like hold it to your face that's the face gain and you.

Have to play like the like I got how many click the squares that have a box Like then it's like right in the this word and you like right in bk E. Then it auto corrects it to bake even though.

You told And then.

I was the motorcycle part, and it is a really high speed like jumps and stuffing. You can't be looking at the other screen. It's like I'll be trying to like what the fuck is going on over there?

Yeah?

God, yeah, just you know, I don't want to give away too much. But there's like one part where like the fancy rider kind.

Of becomes the level instead and it's just moving all the platforms.

Oh yeah, and the other person's jumping. It's just constantly

That day, I said that the pacing is just immaculate.

And like it's even though it's not like, oh I gotta go in here and get collectible, is your level up or anything. Every time I've seen a side mission orb or whatever. It's just like, well, yeah, we're gonna do that, because like that could be anything that's gonna be fun.

And I always said, like, yeah, I think the writing and characters here are better than it takes two.

It's sometimes still a little bit corny for me, Like, yeah.

These two characters are very different, like the one sci fi fantasy and the one really likes the big city and things that the country would be boring, and the cuttry girl thinks that the city is just too darn lau right.

I love that it doesn't get bogged down at all and over explaining the story because like the whole concept like oh we're publisher, we're gonna suck the ideas out of your brain and stuff.

They explained this all in like a couple of minutes, and then you're having fun.

You know.

They could just be like, well, here's how this machine does this, or here's how you escape. They get in there and they're like, oh shit, we're in our stories. Guess we gotta find glitches to get out. Great, that's all I need to know. Do you think it's do you think it's symbolic of anything?

A I in corporate agreed. Yes it Dan, you just got one hundred podcast.

Wow, so proud.

It's pretty clear.

I'm genuine.

The thing I'm genuinely shocked by is that this feels like it's Joseph Farres's bag right to do this style of game, and that uh, someone had approached him like, hey, you got an idea for a game, and he's like, yo, I got twenty and you know, coming up with this device to be able to dip into all these different ideas I think is very fantastic. Even if it is a very small sequence where you're just a hot dog and I, what are the physics on my hot dog jump?

It's just so much fun to play through it.

I'm just curious, as do you think there is like you know, there's a Sony or a Microsoft out there somewhere saying like we should just do that, we should ape that idea.

I don't know, because like at this point, I don't think anyone can execute No, I've got it. It's not Sony, it's not Microsoft. It's from Software.

It's from Soft and they're making cookies and cream too.

Surprise is going to have Fortnite elements in it.

I think I'm just gonna say I think that the studio is just in the right space. I talked to this on a game this morning is a few weeks back. That it's like, if the studio was a bigger studio, like actually worked at for a publishing company, they probably wouldn't be able to justify this for opportunity costs. And if they were small indie studio on their own completely

I know, like like snipper Clips right or pe are like very small scale down examples, But I kind of want to see I don't know, I guess I would like an uncharted game to kind of be like this yeah.

I mean they did the like lost Legacy type thing where it's like, well, it's about kind of two characters.

What was that?

Wait, that wasn't go up?

Was it?

It wasn't It was just a characters.

What was co Op? Was there's that Wolfenstein to co Ops? Is that new Blood tried that try?

That was it was?

I remember loving that.

Yeah, people were kind of cool.

Even though it sounds like a neat idea maybe we should it sounded good. That is why I was disappointed.

Yeah, Blood, young Blood young Blood. I played the Switch version and I don't recommend that.

I don't know.

No, No, that was one of those games when it was was it that or just uh uh say two in general where they were really talking up the uh the Stadia aspect of it. Really I'm born with Stadia at first.

Oh gosh, Yeah, I just want to play more split fiction. It's reviewing incredibly well. It'd be you would know.

That, mister, I have it in my fantasy credit check too. It would be a boon for anyone that has it on their fantasy whatever. You have three, four, five more slots to fill and now you have like nineteen bucks.

So I'm projected first I've projected first I'm the winner.

Do we know if this has PS five pro functionality? I don't think so, Okay, because these that's what I was I was gonna ask it looks great on everything, because yeah, I'm playing on a pro and it's.

Just like, holy shit, this looks so good for the little console game. Yeah, looks fantastic on Series X where I'm playing it.

Nic how long is it? Have you guess anyone?

Joseph Faris said, I want to say he said twelve to fourteen, okay, which is like, I.

Think that's about what it takes to like, it takes two.

I kind of lost some enthusiasm at the end, but I am liking this a lot more than you of their games before, so like I'm hoping it keeps up. I'm probably like four hours in, probably play a couple hours tonight.

But yeah, it's it's got a lot of like little fun neat winks and nods at like everything, whether it's like Joseph Faris himself or like other games, Like it's a very early sequence, but you dive into a bail of hay and then you hear like a bird. Yeah, so I thought that was cute update.

From the Fantasy critic Jiana Chow is once again projected to finish first. Yep, that's right because of this game expliction.

Well was really loud a second ago. You know, that's just projected points. That's not actually all that important.

The big dog is dead.

You will respect me as your podcast.

Chief, all right?

Uh? I mean, did you just let the record show thank you thanking? We have our own wise man. He's he's working back there. He seems stressed out.

Jeff Grubb the news, this is the news or the show, Jeff Grub.

Let's uh, let's do the Tonyak stuff first, real quick, just to get that on the podcast. Tonyak's Pro Skater three Post four has been revealed is coming July eleventh, although you can get it July eighth and early access if you pay a little extra. It is fifty dollars for the base version. Then I think I'm trying to track down the digital price digital deluxetation. I think that was like seventy or eighty bucks something like that, and then there is a one hundred and thirty dollars version.

Yeah? Yeah, heavily graffiti and just like colorful and looks really neat.

It seems like all water parks now because all of them seem abandoned.

Yeah, yeah, they the water parks are a thing. You just go to Disney for those. Now, Yeah, this is say it. Then I'm like, I shouldn't bring up Disney Iron Galaxies developing it. It is just building on the tech from the first one, which is what everyone wants because you kind of don't need to change anything at this point. Tonyoks pro Skater one plus two is perfect as is. This is just more of that.

Uh.

They in the trailer that they showed off, We as far as we could, we've only watched it once. Because we watched all we did a live react, which you'll be able to find on game spot jib on a bunch of places later. I'm sure as far as we could tell, we didn't see any Tonyak's pro Skater four levels in the trailer. I wonderful people.

Were saying there were some.

It's okay, harder for me to know because I'm so much more to ask pro Scare three coded that I'm just gonna reach nice straight away.

Sure. Well, either way, I when we're expecting to have all the levels from both games. They you know, they had Ace of Spades as the soundtrack to the trailer, of course they did, and it's it hit all the right notes for me, how about y'all?

God, absolutely, Tonks.

Pro Scare three is my favorite game in this series, and just one of my favorite games ever in general. It's just every time it's like, oh my god, there's the foundry, there's airport, there's the cruise ship. I am you know, I play this game again every few years really, but I'm so so excited to get back to it in this new format, with this presentation and having the new skate parks. That is really cool.

Yeah. I think Tony Hawk he was on Colbert last night, right, and he pretty much announced this. But it said in that interview, and that quote is kind of circling around that skating is is probably one of the most inclusive sports or activities. And I also feel that way with the Tony Hawk games. Right, most people that are into well, you know, the fighting games aren't their flavor. Rts is aren't their flavor. But I feel like we can all

Bam Margera, Bam I got work in the morning, it's gotta be something super special to be now part of that.

Line up, right, It's gotta be so fucking neat. Yeah, And I can't wait to go back to that part in La because, as Grub said in that talkover when we stayed Dan, when we stayed in that hotel that was near that little park area, I'm like, oh, hey, it's Tony Hawk. Wow.

Cool.

But for those like I wonder if there's a lot of like younger gamers that don't understand like how hallowed, how revered.

Tony Hawk is.

I'm looking, I know, metacritics, you know, take it earlier, paint, punch a salt, whatever you want, however you take it. It is tied for third best game of all time. It's Mario Galaxy one two and Breadth of the Wild to have the same meta score as Tony Hawk pro Skater three. That is the les It's not just a nostalgia old man thing like this is a masterclass video game.

Yes, well, I mean it's to me, We've said this before. That's my my definition of a video game. Yep, yeah, Tony Hawk. When you think of what video game should feel like or make me feel like, it is Tony Hawk's pro Skater three. And then you know, it's kind of like a little bit of radiates out there to two and four and things like that. But yes, definitely, Tonyhok's pro Skater three is the sweet spot. And I

Also that popular.

It was also like early ish in the PS two.

It's like a year after the PS two came out, and like, I know, a lot of people, you know, think PS two right out of the gate, had this amazing library. You had your techn tags, he had address sex Is, you had Twist Middle Black the next summer.

Your bouncers.

Yeah, but there was a big.

Complaint for the first year or so that it's like, oh, there's no big you know, PlayStation two games. And so this came out in like October, like a year after the console came out.

This is a killer fucking.

But like Mikey talked, Mikey talked about this during the talkover. But like with Tony Hawk being on everything, I didn't get to play Tony K pro Skater three until like well after it had come out because I only had a PS one at the time and I was still having a ball with that just because like it just translates so well to everything.

And it influenced, Like I know everyone talks about the soundtrack, but it was a real thing, like you know, when it came out, I in the same way I talk about ECW and that it opened my eyes to things outside of like you know, oh, I only listened to classic rock in high school, and all of a sudden, it's like, oh, man, rage against the machine, motor had dell the fucky Homo Sapien like all this stuff, Like oh fuck, okay, I need to start. Like I was buying albums because of the Tony Hawk series.

You know. I mean, it really was kind of the call of duty in a lot of ways of its time. I have the sales chart here for Matt Pisktel. In two thousand, the third and fourth best selling games were Tonyaks pro Skater and Tonyoks pro Skater two, only beat by Pokemon Games. In two thousand and one, Grand Theft Auto three and Madden sold them, but three and four were Tonyaks pro Skater two and three, and then in two thousand and two, to Ex pro Skater four was

It didn't hurt too that Like it's you know, it reminds you of like Madden in that it wasn't just a like, oh I signed my name over thinking, but like John Madden wasn't a huge gamer, but he fucking cared about this game he put his name on. And it's very clear that Tony Hawk cares about this series too.

Yep.

Absolutely, It's kind of wild that we're gonna get three plus four before skate four.

Yeah.

Wow, they now said very early.

They were a team to make the game.

Yeah, exactly, I should try Skates and I never played them. I bet I'm not gonna love them, But I didn't love it.

It felt like more of a semi where it's like, yeah, I want into the wackiness of Tony Hawk.

The video gamingist of it all is what I loved, you know.

Yeah, I think I.

Want to I got to push the foreman into the pit or whatever. Yeah, I gotta pull this pizza box out of my ass. Yeah.

I think there are and there are a lot of people who just like love skate for it being exactly what it is, because it's like, well, I wanted to feel like skateboarding. I totally get that. That's how I almost snowboarding games. Uh okay, let's wrap back around here to iconic game publisher Acclaim has been resurrected, and then

He keeps saying that name, and it's friend a web pod, friend of the site, voicemail, dump truck.

Yeah, and Jeff Jarrett, we probably should have him back on.

Yeah, yeah, you think we caused this probably?

Yes?

Yeah, I saw it was like the first thing I saw when I woke up today was that Oh no, I saw it was a Chris Scullion that was a blue skyed Oh big news for retro games today, and it's not Tony Hawk, And I was like, oh, what is this is gonna be?

And you could have given me infinite guests.

It would have not been out of every wrestler that is loosely tied with video games.

Now.

I don't think I would have ever said Jeff chairs like Kenny Omega, Sure you didn't see that woods, Yeah, okay, diversifies portfolio rights. I mean Jared worked with a claim I guess I'm like the oldest sixteen bit ones and then like war.

Attitude, I think we are responsible.

I'm gonna say that.

Yeah, it was.

It was yall, but I also if there's two things about this that are just like okay.

So Phil Salvador from the Video Game History Foundation said like, oh, I hope people understand this is just a trademark being transferred or registered.

Yeah.

Yeah, And also like what could the possible?

Like I was looking at at the acclaim the list of their games, and all of the ones I remember were like back when I was a kid and I was buying movie games and NBA JAM sports games and stuff that like, okay, you're never going to be able to like re release or make well I mean you could make a new NBA JAM like well, no, Hea owns it, right, Yeah.

Yeah, they're big thing. I mean they had tur Rok they don't own truck anymore, right, And a lot of licenses.

Mortal Combat, Terminator Simmons, all those games.

Yeah.

To me, I think they're trying to do the recent like Atari Night Dive thing where they will find the games that they can bring back that even the ones that are licensed and sort of just do a nice sprucing up of them and re release them. Will they do as good of a job as Night Dive and even Atari has done recently? Atari has bought Night Dive, I think, right, probably not, But I think this is a popular trend right now, and I'm not against it. I think this is like so like, I mean, who

Yeah, I'm worried.

It's just going to be more of This is going to be a studio that's gonna be a content farm for licensed.

Games, which, to be fair, is largely what Actually that's a claim.

Two?

Yeah, well, okay, I got I got two things. One, when I saw this news article from the from when I woke up, I thought the Acclaimed as in the wrestling stable had gone back together and that Jeff Jarrett had like superseded the uh Billy gunn Daddy ass Uh. But now I'm also looking at how Acclaim Entertainment is spelled, and I'm looking at the logo. Yeah, and I guess this whole time, I thought those were quays and nuts.

Yeah, every time I look at the logo, even though I knew it was spelled Acclaim with c's I would I would think those are case.

I remember back in the day, like even when people would write into magazines and stuff, you know how like now occasionally see trolls, right, like Microsoft for the dollar sign is the s people used to be like, ah claim, like yeah, yeah, yeah.

Or.

All right, so this means we get a new Armornes project Swarm right, that's oh god, Mike Maharty yeah.

Yeah, meet mister Domino's coming back. Right, yeah, I like extreme g Yeah they made three of those somehow, Triplex oh yeah right, just bring nothing back but the tasteless marketing that they used to do.

Sure, yeah, I mean it's because like I do when I think about my childhood playing games like the sixteen bit era specifically, I feel like I saw the Acclaim logo maybe more than Konami and Capcom, like.

The likes a rental game company, because again they would kind of people making the the you know, the Terminator games.

And Bart versus.

Yeah, in the home versions of More Combat and stuff like they were all over the place.

Yeah yeah. And then Jeff Jarrett and then Jeff Jarrett double for him there chosen one incredible all right.

Well, uh, we'll see what that turns into uh, they will have a you know, god, maybe we can move up that Terminator two story right now. I'm gonna do that now Jan as well. Oh uh did I even include that? Oh yeah, here they are. A new two D game based on Terminator two is coming in September. They did make a Terminator two game back in the day. It was a claim was involved with.

It made a couple of bit I had the one that worked with the Minister for Genesis. It was like game yeah, yeah X they did yeah, music is the weapon brother.

They worked with like l JN on that, And I got to say this new Terminator two game looks a lot like an l j N game. A new two D action game, Terminator two two D no Fate, based on Terminator two Judgment Day, is coming to multiple platforms on September fifth. Players will control Sarah Connor, the T eight hundred and John Connor across different timeline, aiming to stop the T one thousand and Skynet. It's being developed by Bitmatt Bureau. The game blends iconic scenes with original

But I think they know now they can't just put out one of those exs like that to be a success now. Like I went in pretty skeptical, like, you know, everyone is posting to me like, oh my god, Terminator two game. I was like, all right, there's gonna be some pandury nostalgia, you know, bad game. And I watched it and I was like, I see this does not look bad at all, Like I am pretty good.

Yeah, yeah, it kind of, if anything, kind of reminds me a little bit of the say a CD Terminator game, which actually was not bad at all.

That one.

There's like some yeah, the run and gunning here looks really nice.

There's a bit of a gosh, there's a little bit of a contra vibe and also a little bit.

Of like that Alien three game on the Genesis that was a that wasn't bad. Yeah, just really good looking pixel work here. You know, there's they have the scene in the water trench whatever that's called in LA that looks fantastic. I'm oh, I'm into this. I'm excited.

Yeah. Were they raced in Greece, Yes, exactly, Yes.

Yeah, there's there's like naked Arnold Schwarzenegger beat them up sections.

There's the like shooting the T one thousand into the lava. There's the frozen T one thousand.

Yeah.

I mean, I think the thing that I'm like that works the best for me out of all this stuff though, is sort of the the animated attract modes where that you would see like on the arcade machines if you would walk past them of like we're gonna like animate the T one thousand going from liquid metal into his human form, and we're just gonna have it's it's just gonna fly two D pixel frames really fast to kind of like emulate that, and that that style of attract

And when you said the different combat styles, what I'm seeing here maybe like John Connor's the running gun, like Contra Sarah Connor, maybe like betro Vingia, maybe a little bit more stealth action stuff. And then you know, like the Terminators just beat them up.

Yeah I'm not.

Just some shooting elements in there too, all over the place.

I think they showed, Uh, don't they have Sarah Connor in the asylum, because like escaping there and just beating the shit out of everyone with like a broom handle should be fun.

You know.

She looks so cool doing pull ups in her cell.

Yeah.

Yeah, screen is very good. Yeah, the.

Syringe and the fucking yeah it's oh man, Terminator two.

Have we ever talked about that?

Forties?

This?

No?

Somehow what really it's the Terminator two. I don't think we've ever done a Terminator of filming forties.

I think we did one because Backlar was there, because he never maybe we did one. Maybe we did the first one.

Right, that's what it was backlar had I was like just thinking the right, Well.

What better time?

Look, I will watch Terminator two if someone asked me to force you, Dan, but you have to be ready for me to feel bad for like a random mall security person getting caught in the crossfire and dying. Yeah, I love that he's got the coffee.

All right, Uh well let's see here. Let's go back over here to Activision taps AI for sneak peak at Peak at possible Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Crash Bandicoot games. This story is insane. Activision apparently created AI generated ads four games put them on social media services like Instagram, being like, hey, like look at this. It's Guitar Hero Mobile or Call of Duty Zombie Defender or

Are just wacky, stupid, weird, unhinged behavior, you know what?

Those going on this decision to do this probably took way too long. Yeah, probably had way too many heads involved.

And enough people had to approve it to actually happen.

And so many people were high on their own supply to go make this thing.

Yeah right, and there's like a lot of people who are like initially trying to tell them that they shouldn't do this, but were like shouted down. But there's some like dead inside for months as this was moving ahead. What the hell? There's gotta be other ways to find out if there's interest in a potential video game. Yeah, subjective a terrible fucking idea.

Yeah, there's this. This data has got to be useless because like, who is gonna fill out this survey that is gonna be I mean you're gonna get some random people, I guess, but that that don't like realize it's AI I suppose. But anyone who does and and then realizes the games aren't real are just gonna come in there and yell at them.

So I would be mad if I was like not in tune with like game news or whatever, and it's not like, oh new new guitar hero sure, and it's a fucking survey. Uh like there are there are fake games that lead to an actual game. Still, Uh all over, TikTok. There's a way better job at convincing me to do something and the click through rate there versus whatever the fuck?

This was Yep, just a weird thing from a company that continues to be just wild, weird, stupid and Activision PS five's Twisted Metal game now speaking, a good idea is was a battle Royale with third person shooting, as in you would get out of the car and shoot

I mean, I would love this.

I think I would prefer if it happened, I would have liked it to stay in the car. Yeah, I'm a huge anytime it's a vehicle based series and it's like, oh now you can get out star Fox is you know Main Offender number one I think, or Drive three, or it's just like nope.

This is a driving game.

I want to be in the car. I want to be in the r wing Twist Metal, I don't need to run around. In fact, this weekend I was playing ahead on Extra Twisted Edition with the weird Sweet Tooth mode where you're running around as sweet Tooth, and it's like, hmmm, this is not what I want.

This is not it.

So the idea of just.

Cars, like one hundred cars on an island sounds fucking awesome to me.

Well, yeah, that would have been awesome.

That's what this is.

So close?

Yeah, like you know what a differentiate you.

Fortnite literally has had like seasons with car combat in it, and I don't I didn't even really love it.

In there, I was like, ah, I felt better when.

I was just actually running around shooting people as opposed to some weird car combat stuff.

But yeah, like yeah, Twisted Metal is a battery. Oh that's not a terrible direction, but you would need to make maps based around driving, and you can really optimize it for that. Once it's both driving and on foot stuff, well then the maps have to serve both those purposes and that's very difficult, folks.

Fortnite kind of did it, though, Yeah, I didn't try it.

I didn't love the car combat seasons. Before the Mad Max season, there's a Mad Max. I think it was like supposed to be Mad Max, and like clearly the deal didn't happen, like that stuff was still there or something like.

That, this isn't happening. This game's canceled. But like they kind of.

Tried to do something, which was The Metal. It's when they're you know that the show is getting a second season.

Yeah, but I mean that's gonna take five years to make a game, so they're gonna they you know.

They start now.

Might not make so weird because I thought it was ready to be announced years ago, like because there were people in the media that I know that like had articles written and we're just waiting for the go ahead to publish, like like play it or saw the game. So it's like, oh, okay, this is an imminent SGEF reveal or something, and then it just got canceled.

Yep. And I think that might have been the original version, because I heard a lot about that one, and then that got canceled and then moved over to fire Sprite to be this live service free to play battle Royale where you get out of the car again shoot and then now, yet this was canceled last year or the year before that something like that.

So imagine if instead of making Blue Point work on a live service game that would get canceled, if they were just doing a Twisted Metal Black remake this whole time or something that would have nice.

That's it might be a good idea to just shift them that shift them to that now after canceling their game all right. Sony has been sued for disproportionate Sony tax, abusing its market position to increase game prices. It was a class action lawsuit that has been filed against Sony in the Netherlands, alleging that the company abuses its market

They're not gonna be able to ever help selves, right, They're going to push it, push it and push it, and yeah, like you said, they're speeding tickets along the way.

But no, we know this all works. They can't. They can't make less money, right.

With the whole part, Ezy inane.

You give people a taste of the fun dessert, you don't give them the whole thing.

Yeah, and it does feel like they probably could if they were willing to, but you're right, they need that growth and all that is sort of their their number one focus. We'll see how this, you know, progresses down the line. It's also the possibility that governments get distracted or find some other target and Sony can skate by. I think that's Sony's hope. We'll see I could.

Possibly distract them in the world right now instead of this, oh nothing, it's all chill. Okay, that's so chill.

Pokemon Legends Z a trailer dropped. This happened after the podcast last week. It showed off new mechanics. We still don't have a release date. Basically, it is the sequel to the last one, but it takes place in the city and so there is fewer like wide open areas. That's the big change. Other than that it is a Pokemon Legends game where you're capturing Pokemon in a live setting. And then the other major change I suppose is that the combat is more real time and that you are

Someone had pointed this out in the chat as I came to the same conclusion. But it kind of does feel like Xeno Blade Chronicles three where you're positioning and there are cool downs so you can like do a loose dodge and kind of command your Pokemon like, hey, screy on over here to get out of the way. And yeah, positioning very important here, which normally isn't a thing to worry about with the baseline or the mainline Pokemon games, because you're just kind of taking turns hating

I think if I didn't, if I lived in a world without Scarlet and Violet, i'd be like, oh, it looks looks pretty bad. And it looks just enough better than Scarlet Violet. I'm like, I'll take it.

Yeah, I think that's what it is.

I'll take it.

Yeah. Either the starters here at Chikorita, Tepeig and Tota dial uh. And you can pick between characters Urbane and Towny and yes that's really their names.

I think Urbane and Tommy those are your rivals.

Those are the rivals. Okay, yeah, I mean players, why have a new companion. You're right, Slash Rival.

But the wild thing is we're back with Mega evolutions. I hope we get more megas. I mean we're gonna get Mega Meaganium probably right Mega.

Mike Manati is not a fan of the I'm anti megas, I'm anti ze attacks, I'm anti wearing a crystal hat. I don't go for any of these these bullshit gimmicks there. Yeah, the anti gimmick, I'm just saying.

It was the Nemesis system. Guys. Wonder Woman was canceled and the studio that was working on it was closed down. That was Monolith Productions, long storied history for that studio. This also happened after the show last week, and the one of the key culprits of the reason that the development went so bad for that game because it got rebooted last year after being announced in twenty twenty one, is that they couldn't really figure out how to make

I think they've made video game players their Nemesis. Actually, I think general consumers of media Warner Brothers has just adopted the Nemesis system.

Still, come on, everyone loves that they make movies don't release them.

Do you think the least would have been longer here if like Suicide Squas, wasn't the jass of money lost for them?

Yes? Yeah, I think so. I think it's uh. They probably were looking at it and thinking this would be a repeat because it's a very similar setup, right where the Suicide Squad movie came out made a lot of money, so they were green lighted a game based on that. The next movie came out didn't make as much money because everyone hated the first one actually in the long run, so all of the excitement ran out of the room. Wonder Woman. The first movie did really well, made a

Yeah, that's that's really early to be on that. Like you said, it's just well, we'll get a check from Sony if we do this, at least, and.

I'm sure Sony wrote a probably a pretty hefty check for it.

Yeah, it's wild, and I'm wonder it's gonna be like a longer conserquints of beat people being a lot maybe a bit more hesitant about bringing back to my dormant franchises.

It feels like a mirror's edge. What was the second one called?

Yeah, I feel right, but you know, we still have things like Annie Musha and the Almataratsu's game that I'm suddenly plaking Cammy the other Oh right, Like no, those things are coming back. You know, it's coming back, So maybe we'll see some other successes here. There's you know, everybody's like, what's the one reason why Dragon Age the Veil Guard didn't work?

And there are so many Yeah, there's no one reason.

Yeah, there's no one.

Reason, but there are a lot of them. Uh, and I mean it it was too well, you're right, it's like that's definitely not a reason. But Chuds being very upset and making that kind of the biggest talking point about the game online. Probably part of the reason. That's almost like, yeah, legitimate complace people had about the story and the gameplay, and just that long span of time between two things, that awful first trailer that just was

Yeah, especially with like the reduced team that they got working on that. Now, Oh that's true. Yep, Okay, well, we'll see. They're not gonna make any more Dragonage games, at least not anytime soon, probably never, and then yeah, Mass Effect they are still going to try to make.

No? Absolutely not, no way.

I mean I think he's not at Platinum Games anymore, so he's at Capcom again.

Yeah, but like, don't you think Microsoft probably owned uh, scale But even.

Beyond that, like, I don't think I don't see Capcom like I do in some partnerships with Microsoft. I don't think they're going to be like, let's work really hard on this Microsoft based project.

Again. Sure, I don't know.

I get people being upset about scale Bound, right, but we never really knew that much about that game.

We never really knew if it was going to be good.

If you want to make a game about a person riding a dragon and fighting other dragons, yeah yeah, sure, yeah exactly, I don't think it needs to be scale Bound anymore, right, Yeah.

Fair, yeah you do.

Most people know that Spire of the Dragon exists, and you can just be the dragon.

That's true.

Cut out the middleman.

Yeah, yeah, apparently Clover's is not part of Capcom by the way, so sorry about that.

I miss oh.

I didn't realize that either. I thought they were just independent. Wow. Okay, well, so maybe they're gonna make this. So in that case, I'm gonna say, yes, this will happen. It'll be out next year. It'll be a game of the year.

You know.

I'm more wondering, like, who wants this game in twenty twenty five. But I pulled up one of the trailers and I'm looking at the newest comments, and there are still people actively upset about this game being canceled. And I guess that's why. I don't understand that. But I guess that's why Hollywood felt compelled to make How to Train Your Dragon live action movie that is just the same movie.

Yeah, do people really like dragons?

How To Train Your Dragon one is a good movie. I think the remike looks really stupid. They want to keep that franchise a bit rovant. They did just build a giant theme park section off of it in that new one in Orlando, So I don't know.

My kids just got into How To Train Your Dragon big time, like the last.

Week, so good music. I kind of want to get the gimmicks and dib a skateboard. I just want to see what happens.

Sure we did would die.

Yeah, I'll get one for Mike Manatti as well.

Oh great, Mike will become the greatest skater a lot. That'd be awesome.

You were talking about how inclusive it is here economics.

Yeah, I could. I could see Mike Manatti being the most supportive skater at the park and he's.

Like banging his board of like, you did it, buddy, you did it.

You dropped in.

Yeah, but I would hurt myself horribly very early on and not be there very much.

But everyone would be supportive and checking on you.

Okay, better, I'll be a lot of pain, all right.

So I one more story here. This one comes from Nikki. What it mean that Yoship not on the square Inox board anymore? This one I mess. Let's see here. Final Fantasy fourteen's Yoship quietly removed from Square Innox's board after years of wanting out. It's much more fun to just make games, that they said, So that's probably that's probably what it is is that Yoship is very busy doing other stuff that they he wants to be doing.

I mean, he's already he was a chiet a charge of Offanasy fourteen. That alone should be a full time job, right, and then he just also made Final Fantasy sixteen. Right, that's wild and you're on the board of the whole company. Yeah,

He's also like still going to be very crucial to like the executive management of that company, Like they said that he'll continue to serve as an executive officer. He'll also be joining the Executive Management Committee starting April first, which you know, it's not going to be the board of directors, but might be actually more crucial to how squirreen x op rates as a company. So you know, it should be still incredibly crucial to Square Enix, like

We're gonna go take another quick bricky break and we'll be back with some emails right after this.

Emails.

BombCast John bomb dot com is the email addressed to send your emails to Mike. We actually got an email where someone sent in a beat for the next gamer Rap.

I heard about that.

I was complaining that I didn't have a backing beat for so I'm I'm running out of excuses now.

I don't have to really get this thing done soon. Thank you.

I'm gonna say this out here, out loud, because this is how the stuff happens. You just say it and then you're kind of held to it. I think I want new segment music.

Oh yeah, it's time. It's time. Is the new gamer Rap is going to be that?

No Mike drop a bar?

Oh hey, it's time for emails, so send them in before it's an e fail. I want to know what you're thinking. If your opinions are bad, I'll tell them they're stinking.

Giant bomb doc.

Okay, that was better than I expected that to be thank you.

You're like you're like a Kyle of mar Mike. Wow.

Also very funny that Drake was in the first row elimination chamber and they never know I'm sure not to be shown, but still very funny.

Yeah, oh god, yeah, because they'll show Vanessa Hudgens at every single event she's.

In and I don't that's the biggest star in the world, in the W Doe universe.

The peg is the biggest star in my heart to big God, the peng has got podcast beef. Y'all hear about this, you'll see that. No, No, she's with a former co star, the woman that maitland Ward that played Rachel in the later seasons of Boy Meets World. They had beef or have beef. I'm not gonna it's not my place, Mike.

Is that about boys?

No? Yeah, yeah, Award yep, Okay, yep, yep, Yeah, I googled it, yep, yep, yep, yep.

Yet I brought her onto the New Day podcast once was a surprise because Woods was like in love with her from his childhood and so we just had I forgot if we like cued up some conversation about Boy Meets World and I just had to Panga joined the zoom call and Woods freaked out.

Let it be known. I would love that, but I still.

Got her number.

Jan If you needn't talk to her, we.

Should get to bang hole.

The boy spailed up truckle. But god, yeah, sorry, sorry, my heart's beating it.

Like the whole thing with Tapang originally is like she was like a weird character, and then like he was, she got Steve rkled in and they kind of normalized her to just be like the kind of love interest. But at first, like the whole point was like Topanga's the weird character of a weird name, and she's a weirdo.

Really, just what are you talking? No, she's not Kimmy Gibbler.

She was like, no hippie kid, hippi kid. It was a hippie kid.

Yeah, okay, all right. First email comes in, subject Ryan. The line read avowed I didn't write down the emailer's name. Uh that's it. I don't understand the reviews on this play exploration, art and narrative or fun anyway, have a good week. Thank you.

There was a part of me it's like, okay, yeah, the reviews like art maybe beside they will be, but I bet like the Steam reviews will be much better, and even those are just like mostly positive, which is kind of the same a bit all over the place of vibe I got from a lot of people. I get there's there are a lot more people I guess concerned with because they're biking saying this this phrase the

An action rpg, like it's it's like a lot of it feels as alive as a lot of other action rpg.

I mean, I get the thing in that, like, Okay, yeah, it's cool that in Bethesda one, you know, you could just kill like an NBC and then you can't take that question from them, Like I think that is cool. But that was also a giant Bethesda thing like this was this is a shorter and more streamlined thing like and it didn't bother me.

It's so fun.

Tosse All to play.

About definitely got graded on a like different rubric. It got like like you're not the game that I thought you were going to be, So there for you are bad and that it's weird that happens sometimes in people's expectations. You're allowed to have your expectations, but it definitely is getting I think a little unfairly assessed based on people thinking it was a very specific kind of game and it didn't do a lot of that stuff because it wasn't interested in that stuff. So that's a shame yep.

Next email is about cousins high bombers. I'm here answering the BombCast call for aid parentheses emails, and I assume you were being inundated this week. I recently read Polygon's cousin game cousin Games article, which, if you haven't read, is essentially coins the term cousin games for essentially in your youth that you loved but later found out they were essentially a store brand video game, perhaps could even be thought of as a B game, as you thought

I heard I've heard the words.

Okay, I remember seeing this box art in the vault. Yeah I never played it.

Yeah, yeah, oh gosh, I think I did.

Oh these are crazy the box. I was like, oh, yeah, these are Atomic Warheads characters. Yeah wow yeah ninety nine. That's way later than I would have guessed.

Yeah this ki.

Yeah, I guess mine very literally cousin games because me and my cousin played a ton of games growing up, and there's usually any s, but these are probably bigger than what this writer's talking about. But the one's gonna find her Bubble Bobble Rampage and Caveman Games. Those are the two player games that, like mym I ever staying over at MAT's plays. We are definitely just playing those all night.

That's so funny because like bubble bob was definitely a game I mostly played at my cousin's place. Like I love bubble Babble, I have a like this little poster of it over here, so I love it, But it was a game I never actually owned.

It was at my cousin slash Grandma's. Then the other two I associate with that which like arn't like big games. But there was a Barbie game for the Super Nintendo they have where you rode a horse and did some other things, and Spot not Cool Spot for the genis Superintendent just Spot, which was an Othello clone for the any Oh sure, yeah, I thought that game was good.

They had some sick animation. I'm not gonna lie.

Yeah, my uh definitely going over to like cousins or family member's house, I remember, like that's where I discovered Karnoff, which was for me was a long time. Was this game that no one else ever talked about. And then it's all anyone talks about a giant bomb. So it's different now anyone talk all anyone talks about Uh, everyone loves Karanoff, Come onlated man, and I I was it blew my mind a couple years ago when I discovered the Karanoff was like had like a fighting game series.

Dating Carniv and Reigar mixed up.

Yeah, I get it too. And then Heini hadiokio Anlien was this like game Boy game that's about digging holes and trapping trapping aliens in the hole. And then that's another one where later I discovered apparently that was like a very popular arcade game in Japan, and so it like has this history that a lot of people know about, but no one ever talked about that in any of the circles I was in for a very long time.

My cousin game is Rayman Arena. I don't know if you'll remember this oh yeah, yeah, this was a Rayman racing game. I guess split screen Jimmy jam Yeah, Me and my little cousin played this a bunch. Cousin games also kind of extend to something like Minecraft, just because it was just like a boxy environment where you could do kind of do whatever.

I definitely also associate j RPGs with my cousin because he was a big RPG guy or JRPG guy, and so like Superintendo era, he'd be like, Okay, I know you don't usually like these, pe check out Secret of Evermore. And then I would like play it until it was a turn based thing. I was like, why are what do you play these? Fantasy all those?

And say I do not understand. But he also introduced me to Mortal combat and Command of Concker, so hey, oh there you go.

Yeah, okay, next emailer is seeking some validation email rates, and hello, bombers, I need some of y'all to possibly validate an issue I might have. This could be so long, so I'll bullet point the story, all right. Move from New York to Rally in twenty seventeen. Have old retro consoles, primarily RGB, all look like ass on big fancy modern TV. Discovers North Carolina has an insane thrift source scene purchases CRT coax only in vcr coacs out RGB in life

So here's my potential issue. It's now twenty twenty five and I have easily over five hundred VHS tapes. Yeah, I absolutely fucking love every single one of them and watch them all the time. Now this part with intensity and slight hint of concern.

What did I do? What am I become? Am I a monster? Or just a man with a passion for cool VHS tapes? They look awesome and reek of nostalgia. I even crafted some floating shelves and put them on display in my gaming room. Back to sincerity. Anyways, that's my rant. There's my issue for the world of GB to know this kind of thing ever happened to you? Guys, Jeff Grubb, Jan mostly looking to YouTube, love you all and remember rewind and be kind hard.

Emotion problem, that's no problems.

This is cool.

This is a cool guy, fantastic.

Big fan of this. Yeah I could, dude, I would Uh. I would love to be in your situation. Absolutely.

I've had to stop myself from doing that.

I got the CRT in the VCR and I'll see on like the basic marketplaces, like here's every great action movie from the nineties on VHS that takes up a lot of space, but.

It's only twenty dollars and cut the rock and yeah, I do so.

Our parents and they had midlife crisises. They would like buy motorcycles and boats. But yeah, money quite as good as it used to be. So yeah, by buying a CRT and a bunch of VHS tapes, that's fine.

That's better, that's fun.

Way better. Yeah.

Like a movie critic, I really like Chay Serrano. He started like collecting a bunch of VHS tapes and I thought like, oh no, I don't want to do that. And then I kind of want one of those old dorky SpongeBob CRTs that have like the VCR.

Combo to totally.

I kind of just want one behind me at all times just that I just pop a new tape in.

That's whenever I have like a party here, I'll usually just like I have boxes of my old VHS tapes of just like everything I taped on TV and like junior high in high school, and I'll just put one in and be like, we'll see what I was taping when I was thirteen. And then it's usually just like a bunch of like Conan bits and Simpsons episodes in older wrestling, just like here's a bunch of The Man Show of Insomnia.

I gotta find it. But like the One New Year is like like two thousand something. They just did a Iron Chef marathon and I like diligently recorded the entire thing. I love the Iron Chef so much so I would just watch those tapes over and over.

God, Iron Chef is amazing. Like some of those tapes just I just think about them, like the Jurassic Park vhs and how yeah that looks?

Did that have the textured and We'm I thinking of the book they had the textured logo. Maybe I'm thinking of the book.

Maybe it's a little embossed. I forget. We're just like a little jumpy logo.

Yeah, it's just like the like the Batman VHS was the same, right, It's just like that clean logo maybe like one like pool quote or like tagline there the.

Old original movie.

Yeah, the original trilogy with the silver boxes, the Silver and the Gold wasn't.

One full screen and one was yeh gold, Gold was full screen, Silver was wide screen. I got the Gold one first, and then my friends like, the movie's getting cut off, Like what are you talk about? They're not cutting out scenes. And then I got the Abyss Special

That's totally that era's version of Tom Cruise being like, you know, don't watch with motion smoothing or like don't watch movies on your phone.

Yeah, and I haven't cut overnight.

That last issue of the non special edition of the Star Wars trilogy, like each one, opened with Leonard Malton talking to George Lucas.

Right, Yeah, that's rule.

I love this. VHS is a cool or stuff at home? What is?

Uh?

You guys remember like a TV like special or a like a really weird one that you were excited for. For me, it was the I think direct the TV sequel for Revenge of the Nerds that was going to be in three D.

Oh my god.

Yeah, And you could go to seven eleven and get the three D glasses and it would like you put on the glasses and they would it was they were just using this effect where they would like pan to the left and they would play at a high frame rate and it just kind of bat looked three D yea so weird.

They did that with an ABC block on like a Wednesday night when it was like Drew Carey Show, and like, I'd never really watched the Drew Krey Show, but it's like all four of our shows this night are going to be in three D. And you could like go to grocery stores like and Entertainment weeklyes they would have the glasses or something.

Yeah, they did this for Nickelodeon. They they call them noggle goggles. Oh that's what basic right.

And all it was it was color code of Nickelodeon. Like the reds would just show up like closer to you than like the blues or something. So all the shows are just kind of made like that. It was I remember Hey Arnold scene. Yeah, hell Go is having a night and there's like a tunnel and like the like the hearts closer in the tunnel were read is weird effect.

I have like four blank tapes that I filled with nine to eleven footage on actual nine to eleven.

I don't know why we're.

Ever time I looking through, it's like, oh, here's all my old like Degeneration next and Devin Reftvas.

And the nine eleven footage.

Jesus Christ, it all comes differently.

Dan, It's okay, Yeah.

I should probably be taping this.

This seems historic, you're yo, I've seen it. Yeah, God, I just looked if people forget, you don't think they will ever. I looked at Facebook.

Marketplace and there are several people just giving out boxes of v tape. Oh it's easy to find if you want to go that route. Yeah, okay, question for y'all.

Okay, Mike, I know that generally the Disney tapes had like the plastic sleeve book around it. Do you all prefer that or like the paper sleeves. I love the paper sleeves personally.

Yeah, the plastic ones kept better. Well, the plastic ones. I feel like when you bought them, like you, they would always be the cardboard right. I feel like if you went to Blockbuster, you're talking like the clamshell plastic.

Look the Disney. Disney did the Big Clam Show.

It seems like so much. I know, but I know what you're talking about.

Friends would have those and it's just the big wasted plastic, like the white cases, Like, no fuck that.

I mean, ELK was cat better. They're nice in their own way. It's like it's like the cardboard boxes for the Super Nintendo games. Now is a PA like Genesis Clam Show.

I like, oh man, every once in all I see like an Earthroom Gym two or a vector man, I'm like, oh, I remember hating these cardboard boxes.

Yeah, the big puffy boxes for the Disney movies always just looked like they were afraid the movies were going to hurt themselves or something. It was like protective padding.

It was weird, sure, sure, all right, I can't call it was so normalized to me out there for it. If it's weird to me, that's like, that's just one of the two ways that came in.

All right.

We got a bunch of lovely, fantastic emails. Thank you everyone to writing into the show. We'll read two more. First or second and last one comes from Jeff from Rhode Island. Hey, dudes, what the fuck does shoot mean? I came back to the podcast after a small break and have been listening to you guys use the word shoot as an adjective and have no idea what it means. Anytime I think I figure it out with context clues, it's used in the context that confuses me. Again, Please help me, Jeff.

You can watch the Jeff Jarrett voicemail Dump Truck where we talked about it and he gave us his full blessing. Acclaimed Jeff Jarrett gave us his blessing to say shoot and work in other Carnie terms.

Shoot it's just a straight shooter.

Shoot means real.

Yep, It's just like you're a straight shooter, so you are talking real it means real. Yeah. It kind of just goes all in, all up and down that context. So it can just mean this thing is real, or it can mean I'm going to be real with you.

Yeah, but it's always in that context of like.

A straight shooter. That's where the term comes from. Yep.

And if I'm working you, I'm putting on an act or I'm trolling you or yeah.

It uh you know, like Sean uses shoot all the time now.

And stuff like that integrated with us rid Nicky Grayson's newsletter and they just shoot and yeah, yes, yes, I want to talk.

Yes.

Yeah.

When I was going into the office to help with like the studio build and just hanging with the game Spot crew, I was holding back and then I decided, fuck this, No, I need to be a straight shooter here. And I'm happy that I don't have the code switch anymore amongst my coworker. Yeah, there you go. I can I can live how.

I want to live, all right. Last email of the show comes from Pete. Pete writes in hey BombCast, in light of Dan's decision to rank Tony Hawk above Final Fantasy, not just me. I wanted your thoughts on some more arbitrary comparisons. What's better Donkey Kong ninety four versus all Pokemon games? Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong ninety four, Probably Donkey Kong ninety four. I don't know.

Pokemon like Hard Goold Soul, Silver and Black and White games are probably pretty close.

Well, I'm gonna say Pokemon. Uh. Metroid Prime versus Mario sixty.

Four, Mario sixty four, this one's very close. Metro Prime is kids ass, but it's Maria sixty four.

Yeah.

I was just actually listening to when Metro Prime got knocked off your brecket on the fire Escape one hundred, and I was a bit sad it didn't go little.

Do you remember what I got knocked on by? I can't remember, gosh. So there's a lot of games that get talked about in that thing. I didn't remember thinking like this.

With Jeff and I did a similar thing, figure out what the best big game ever was. I think we decided on Super met right. I don't even think that was on like your bracket at all. I tried, and I appreciate it.

It's tough for me. I got I let's just try it. I'm gonna say Metroy Prime and see if I know that feels right to me. I'm gonna say Metroid Prime.

It's not a crazy thing. It's like, I don't get Let me look at my top one hundred. What did I say there? I met I have Metric Prime right above Mario sixty four, Metroy Prime at seven, Mario sixty four at eight. So it's like as close as it could be. But I guess I'll say Metroy Bride.

Yep, that's a tough one for me, all right.

Next comparison ice cold drinks versus salt.

What the fuck?

Oh?

Man? I love I love both ice.

Cold drinks, but you need salt. We can't have like no, no, no, you're just saying which one is better. We're just saying it's I think it's salt.

I think it's salt wall and they're saying ice cold. Oh it's ice slash cold drinks.

Ship.

I was gonna say, I could take just normal cold, not ice cold. Yeah, just fine. Yeah, I don't even usually I don't. I never pour my drinks into a glass of ice. Honestly, like frigerator cold is plenty cold.

I have a twelve pack in the cabinet, but it's not like I don't have any sodas in the fridge. Then I will pour some and ice, but I won't drink it.

Yeah, but like salt has saved so much mid food for me.

Yeah, yeah, I mean I would probably like if it were a situation where I could only have one or the other, I probably would regret going with cold because.

You saw you can just say soft food, you need salt. I'm going with salte.

Okay. Now we have a couple of comparisons as what's worse a paper cut for stubbing your toe? Paper cut? Paper cut?

No, I would rather watch a character in a movie get their arm ripped off than watch them ye a paper cut.

Yeah, I've been thinking about that, the wrestler thing since you brought it up with Mickey Rourk. The daily scene that's.

That plays in my head and it terrifies me every time he does.

I stub my toe eight times a day and it's just fine. I'm mad for two seconds, but then like a paper cut.

Is just like that stub a toe.

It's like it like for me, it's like I'll stub my toe. It's so much pain for like, you know, a handful of seconds and then it's like, well that just doesn't hurt anymore. Yeah, and so I'm like used to that now. So yeah, paper cut, it's like once you have it, you notice it and it's like there, and it like stays with you even if it doesn't hurt as much anymore.

It still feels if you've been a finger it's on your finger, you feel it everything, And yeah, it sucks.

I feel like I can stomach most of the jack Ash shenanigans from the movies and the show. When they did the paper cut bit, that sucks, I did hate that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right, continuing, what's worse getting three hours of sleep? For being hungover?

I mean a lot of times it's both, you know, because like if you're hungover, it means you've been out late, like at the bars and stuff. It's like, oh shit, I got set an alarm for nine o'clock tomorrow, and it's like that's the worst.

Over sticks with you a little longer though, Yeah, being hungover like it's worse now.

Like when I was younger, being hungover suck like now being hungover is devastated.

Three hours of sleep right, more of a lazy sleepy thing where it's like a hangover.

But it's worse now.

Than it was when I was in my worst, but it's still not as bad as people.

I agree.

I agree with that, yeah, because I think three hours of sleep is still three hours of sleep.

Yeah, yeah, yeah right. It's like you know when your health bar and in a game is like reduced down.

Yeah, we're actually managed yourself. You're just like, yeah, you're standing a bar, could use a recharge.

Yeah yeah. Hung Being hungover is like, oh you you're debuffed for a while. It's mysterious.

It sucks.

Yeah, all right, what's worse? Metal Gear Solid four Legend of z Eldas or Legend of Elda Skyward Sword? Oh oh oh dance looking very dance not upset. Dan's very upset that I have to think about this. They're two kind of like lesser entries, and they're very good franchises. Let's be clear, they are. They're both still good. They're both still good. But anybody who's like this is my favorite one in that series. Even you wouldn't Dan, You would never say Metal Gear Solid for is your cat.

Weird Days is very good dungeons. It has very fun, liked the Mostion in Control.

Skyward Sword got a ten from Damon Formarole.

I was there.

That's a little high.

Yeah, it's a little high. I'm not gonna answer, you know the answer, Yeah, Melcher sawid for is. I wish there was twice as many gameplay sequences in it.

As there are.

It's not even that I think there's too much story whatever, Like I can be into its goofy story. I think the end stuff works. I just wish it was buffered with more gameplay segments it Also, it does not look great, right. It's one of those games that you know, in that PS three era, they're pushing a lot of things and was very ambitious, and the PS three is.

Sort of struggling to keep up in a lot of ways. Jeff, what do you think?

I've never played Metal Gear Solid for That's right, am I the one of the other person here has played both of these games.

The completion I've I haven't completed Skyward Sword. I definitely have been both, and I like Skyward Sword.

It's the second Wait, I think it's the worst sold Yeah, I think I just said, no, second Spear Trap DS one the middle of the pack.

They're both better than links Wakening.

No way, no, no, I'm sorry. No, Spirit tracks are the worst one. Phantom Hourglass is like middle of.

The pack, and they're probably both on the bottom of mine. I think that they're both fine. They're probably close. I'll go ahead and say, if you ask me right now, I'd probably rather play Muggar solid for.

Okay, okay, all right, all right, that about does it for emails this week. Bombcastigiantbomb dot com is the email addressed to send your lovely emails to thank you so much for everyone for writing into the show. I deeply appreciate it, and I'm rescuing them out of the spam folder. Actually, you know what, I believe in rehabilitation. I believe that in second chances, restorative justice, exactly grading for equity.

I'm gonna I'm gonna extend this to you, Travis, and don't you break my heart, gott don't you do this to me, Travis. Instead of reading your rapid fire emails, We're gonna read one of them. And if I here to the podcast Jungle that one of your emails has made it to another video game podcast.

That's it. We're done, all right.

You don't get a second chance like Corey did after he kissed Lauren in the ski lodge in Boy Meets World. All right, to Pango, that was very high of her.

To do that, all right, More, it's a porn actress, right, Yes, Okay, I'm just making sure I like that name.

Sounds familiar, I, Travis writes in Travis Sin Fargo. What dessert do you always have room for? With love Travis and Fargo? Anything? Cookies and cream?

Oh? Good call.

It's not the flavor. It's because so many desserts are too filling and they give you too much of them. And I already just ate a meal. I like cheesecake, but I can never eat a whole cheesecake crembrewlay, though. I always got a little room for cremberlay, that nice little cracker sugar thing on top, that nice little smooth custard.

It's not too filling. It's never too big of a portion.

It's a big that's I don't usually get dessert when I'm on vacations and you know where, they'll usually have a crimbroulet on the manu. I'll get a crimble I just don't enjoy myself longer.

I just don't like how the crust like the sticks to my teeth sometimes.

Oh it's a little.

Sticky, but that's okay because like that brown like where the sugar gets burnt a bit.

That's such a good flavor. That burns sugar flavor. Oh love it. I like this comment when Mike said crimbrewle Ay, we just got a comment says rich ass motherfucker. Oh my god, I'm sorry I said a French word.

Of the Giant BombCast.

I always have room for pumpkin pie.

Oh yeah, the earth desert, right, yeah, goddamn right. I'm gonna grab two of those free mints on the way out the door.

Wait's what's like a chocolate moose? Is that just the way of saying it's like kind of like a whip to dessert or whatever. It's like fancy pudding that's like basically eating air. So I probably always have room for that.

Uh Tiara massouah, I haven't had a tea masoon in a wow with some good lady fingers in there.

Holy shit, let's get a tea massoue baby.

All right.

Bombcaster Giant Bomb dot Com is the email address, Travis, don't make me regret this. All right, I'm looking and I'm talking to you right now.

Okay.

This week on the website, we're going to continue streaming pretty much around the clock, NonStop, just just blocks of programming, So stay tuned to giant.

Bomb dot com as well as Gamespots, YouTube game Spots, Twitch, as well as our Twitch and our YouTube game mess Morning soon to be renamed Popping Off for the rest of the week, Cruck Grub That's.

Right, we'll be back for the rest of weekly. Remember the new time newon eastern nine am Pacific.

Yes, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. For the rest of the week, we're going to have another grub block and then tomorrow Jeff Grubb, you're gonna beat it, right, You're gonna beat it.

I'll beat it. Yeah, I'm gonna beat it for everybody. Tomorrow.

Absolutely finale is flight Club.

Those brothers two thousand will be out of my life unless I decide to speed run it, which is would be an insane thing to do.

Why would you do that? Who would you do that?

Yeah?

Why would you do that? Who would?

Who? Could never be sure?

And then a voicemail dump Truck I believe Cam and Lucy are going to be playing through a little bit of spliction on Thursday.

That should be at like ten Pacific, am I believe, So that's what this calendar. He's got to play the British lady, right, don't both.

Now it could play as the British person.

No.

But are they siblings?

No?

No, I should play the game guys, assume they were sisters.

No, no, no, they don't even like each other.

No.

On's a city one's a big city girl and the other one's a country goal.

They do that with sisters every once in a while.

Yeah right, I've seen the parent trap.

Yeah see, we're going to have a power Bomb cast to discuss the fallout of the Elimination Chamber and all the other stuff that's probably gonna pop off this week upf still up in the air as to what we're playing.

But there is a tentative thing I might be able to confirm here.

I do have W two K twenty five and it will be out on Friday, so I could stream some of that and I will I'll have.

It by then as well. Maybe we could do some multiplayers.

I would like to.

Yeh, let's check out some of the single player stuff. Then we'll do some matches against each other.

Yes, yes, yes, and then after that to cap off the Friday, the Game Spot crew will be doing a live episode of Game spot Spot after dark. We may have some of the Game Spot homies popping off on GB stuff throughout the week as well. If you're watching and listening live to the podcast, stay tuned. Surely Tom is going to pick up and play through some GT five stuff at the PC Enhanced Edition Now edition, folks, you all get seven podcast points.

Mike, I did that wrap on the spot. I gotta burge for something. But yeah, Mike from Symbolism minus eight podcast points. This is what you get for demanding from from the say please.

Yeah you, I'll say you are from Ohio. I get it. Political. You wear a Maga Man's shirt to this podcast suit.

It's a Mega Man Disney shirt. Isn't it perfect for me? Basically is a suit there? Never mind h to update the podcast points standings, we are all net positive.

Jd Vance, Travis Scott obliterated.

I can't say like say please anymore. That's that's bad.

What deweb and we don't Gian Bob is a welcoming place except to dwebs like that.

No nodwebs, not a nerd folks. We'll see you next week for another episode of the Giant BombCast. He's been Mike, he's been Dan, he's been Jeff, I've been janned, and you at home have been doing work. Go drink some water today. What are you doing? It's only been one glass. I love you, Goodbye, We'll see you.

Stay tuned. We're sitting all alive.

No oisode. Good bye.

There's water right here. It sparkling water account