You sent in 31 questions about gaming, ranging from demo discs to how games are reviewed, and we answered them! This week, we pause for breath, and just enjoy a Q&A with our listeners. Regular service resumes next week. It's a very straightforward episode, but it covers a wide range of subjects, even if it's about 30 minutes longer than it should be. This week's music is from the Deus Ex soundtrack by Alexander Brandon, Dan Gardopée and Michiel van den Bos. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/pri...
Mar 26, 2021•2 hr 7 min
The Nintendo 3DS turns 10 years old this month in the US and Europe, and in this episode, we're counting down the system's best games. We're joined by a special guest (and former employee of Matthew's) to supercharge our Nintendo expertise: IGN's Joe Skrebels! Hear about the history of this system, and learn about the many highlights of its library. This week's music is from the Fire Emblem: Awakening soundtrack by Hiroki Morishita and Rei Kondoh; the Super Mario 3D Land soundtrack by Asuka Haya...
Mar 19, 2021•2 hr 43 min
This week's episode is all about interviewing the people who make games. Are we good at it? What makes a great interview? From Phil Spencer to Yuji Horii, too, you'll hear about 10 of the most notable exchanges we've had while working in the games media over the years. This week's music is from the Super Smash Bros Brawl soundtrack by Takahiro Nishi, Shogo Sakai, Masaaki Iwasaki, Yutaka Iraha, Keigo Ozaki and Kentaro Ishizaka, and The Secret of Monkey Island soundtrack by Michael Land and Patric...
Mar 12, 2021•2 hr 15 min
Samuel Roberts stands accused of crimes against good taste – will the honorable judge Matthew Castle find him innocent or guilty, based on 18 dodgy eBay games purchases made over the past 12 months? We also talk about the idea of collecting games generally in this episode, and reveal how big our Steam libraries are. This week's music is from the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack by Lex Horton and the Phoenix Wright trilogy soundtrack by Masakazu Sugimori and Akemi Kimura. Hosted on Acast. S...
Mar 05, 2021•1 hr 43 min
From Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to Crackdown, which were the best games of 2007? Matthew and Samuel share their top 10 lists, and delve into their memories of covering the early days of HD console gaming. This week's music is from the God Hand soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda, the Halo 3 soundtrack by Marty O'Donnell and the Hotel Dusk: Room 415 soundtrack by Satoshi Okubo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 26, 2021•2 hr 41 min
The long-awaited Nintendo Direct hit this week, and we've picked out 12 highlights for discussion, from No More Heroes 3 to Skyward Sword HD. It's definitely not just an excuse to hear some more of Matthew's great Nintendo thoughts and anecdotes, but hey, it's a nice bonus. This week's music is from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota and Takeshi Hama. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 19, 2021•1 hr 12 min
Mario's greatest Wii U outing has landed on the Nintendo Switch, and this week, we discuss its place in the 3D Mario pantheon. Is it better than Galaxy? Definitely not. Odyssey? Nope. But it is still pretty great. We also talk about the challenges of writing about Mario with our first ever guest, Katharine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun! This week's music is from the Super Mario 3D World soundtrack by Mahito Yokota, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo and Yasuaki Iwata. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/priva...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 49 min
Our two top 30 games of the generation lists conclude this week, as we each read out our personal 15 best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U. This week's music is from the Mario Kart 8 soundtrack by Shiho Fujii, Atsuko Asahi, Shinji Hosoe, Ryo Nagamatsu and Yasuaki Iwata, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild soundtrack by Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata and Hajime Wakai. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 05, 2021•2 hr 38 min
Two top 30 lists of the best games on PS4, Xbox One and Wii U from the past 7 or 8 years – this episode covers games 30-16 on both our lists. Part 2 is coming next Friday. Enjoy. This week's music is from the Prey soundtrack by Mick Gordon, the Danganronpa V3 soundtrack by Masafumi Takada and the Final Fantasy XV soundtrack by Yoko Shimomura. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 29, 2021•2 hr 24 min
We've both played a lot of Hitman 3, and in this episode, we celebrate IO Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy and explore why it's one of modern gaming's greatest achievements. If you're a fan of Agent 47's many murders of nasty billionaires, this episode is for you. This week's music is from the Hitman 2 soundtrack by Niels Bye Nielsen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 22, 2021•1 hr 55 min
Matthew and Samuel discuss the art of making covers for games magazines. See the covers discussed in the episode for yourself using this link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/backpagegames/the-back-page-magazine-covers/ If you're having trouble using the link on your podcasting app of choice, you'll also find them on Twitter @BackPagePod. This week's music is from the Pillars of Eternity soundtrack by Justin E Bell, the Mass Effect Andromeda soundtrack by John Paesano and the Professor Layton vs Pho...
Jan 15, 2021•1 hr 48 min
In this 2021 preview episode, we sum up what's new with the next-gen consoles (and PC! And Nintendo!) in the coming 12 months. We also serve up 21 gaming predictions for the next year – from Cyberpunk 2077 DLC to Master Chief appearing in Smash Bros, it's all based on very few facts, and we hope you enjoy it. This week's music is from the Baldur's Gate 3 soundtrack by Borislav Slavov. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 08, 2021•1 hr 24 min
Wow, 2020 was the worst! Luckily, the games were pretty good, and in this episode, we each count down our personal top 10s of the year. From Doom Eternal to Final Fantasy 7 Remake, start off 2021 by capping off the last 12 months of fantastic games. This week's music is from the Final Fantasy 7 soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu and the themes of Destiny 2's Prophecy dungeon by Michael Sechrist, Skye Lewin, Michael Salvatori and Josh Mosser. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Dec 31, 2020•2 hr 18 min
The story of CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is now much bigger than the game itself. Still, in this episode, Matthew discusses his 70 hours playing the glitchy but nonetheless fascinating game, while Samuel throws questions at him about the game's best quests and why it's not a very good immersive sim. In the second half, we discuss the ways in which writing about big games has changed over the years. Note that this episode was recorded before Sony pulled Cyberpunk 2077 from sale on the PlaySta...
Dec 25, 2020•1 hr 19 min
From Twilight Princess to Gears of War, travel back to the dawn of HD gaming in our 2006-themed retrospective podcast. Matthew and Samuel both count down their top 10 games from that year, and recall the biggest news headlines, from Peter Moore's ludicrous GTA 4 tattoo to the PS3's pricing disaster. Get ready for a comfy 2.5 hours of nostalgia (hopefully not in an unbearable way). This week's music comes from the Bully soundtrack by Shawn Lee, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess soundtrack by...
Dec 18, 2020•2 hr 29 min
IO Interactive: nobody does it better? James Bond is the theme of this week's episode, as we discuss the Hitman developer's recently announced 007 game, and what it might look like. We also delve into the history of Bond on consoles and PC. Predictably, GoldenEye 007 comes up, but so too do the deeply average PS2-era likes of 007 Nightfire and Everything or Nothing. Plus! Jokes about George Lazenby. This week's music is from the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack by Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope and Robi...
Dec 11, 2020•54 min
What goes into awarding a game a 7/10 review score? And what happens when you get it wrong? This week, we discuss 10 or so games where the review scores we decided on many years ago didn't stand the test of time. From Epic Mickey to Metal Gear Solid 4, it's a spicy podcast. This week's music is from the MGS4 soundtrack by Nobuka Toda. Our logo is by John Strike. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 04, 2020•1 hr 23 min
Two next-generation consoles just launched: the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, both of which have sold out worldwide. We've played games on each, and this week we talk about their launch line-up, as well as the history of each company's consoles. Plus: which console had the best launch line-up of games ever ? The answer may or may not surprise you. This week's music comes from the Assassin's Creed Valhalla soundtrack by Einar Selvik. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nov 27, 2020•1 hr 32 min
