In this age of games arriving rapidly from Japan, it's easy to forget that localization used to take a long time - sometimes years. This week, Micah Seff of Perfect World joins us to take a look at games that took a decade or more to reach Western shores, after which we'll touch on Trials of Mana, Animal Crossing smashing sales records, and whether you prefer remakes or remasters.
Megacorporations have been popular villains lately, what with being behind the events of three (or four, depending on your feelings toward Tom Nook) major games in as many weeks. So with help from TL Foster of PNB, let's take a look at five of the most diabolical conglomerates to ever cackle maniacally at your insignificant rebellions, after which we'll dive headfirst into Final Fantasy VII Remake, Cooking Mama drama, and your all-time favorite intro sequences.
Sometimes, the first few minutes of a game are so memorable that they overshadow everything that comes after them, standing out as the first thing you remember about the game for years afterward. This week, we grab TL Foster for a rundown of five of our favorite opening sequences ever, after which we'll touch on Final Fantasy VII Remake, get deep into the Resident Evil 3 remake, and hear about the games you think are most overdue for remakes.
Remakes and remasters aren't just a modern-gaming phenomenon - far from it. They've been part of gaming since at least the '80s, and this week, we grab John Brandon of Square Roots to look back at five of our favorite remakes from the 16- and 32-bit eras. Then we'll dig into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered, Panzer Dragoon Remake, Resident Evil 3, news of Mario and Nier remasters, and your gaming habits under quarantine.
This week's VGA pays tribute to the world's embattled health-care professionals the only way we know how: By talking about five games that let you play as one, with help from Leif Johnson of MacWorld. Then it's onward to Doom Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Half-Life: Alyx, and who you're siding with in the next-gen console wars.
Half the world is on lockdown right now, and the only way through this mess is to band together... by staying separate. But sometimes there's power in isolation, and we're here to help you through it with five games that used themes of solitude and loneliness to tell unforgettable stories. Then we'll look at the recently unveiled details on Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, spend some time on Nioh 2, and revisit the games from your childhood you keep coming back to.
Between the third season of the Netflix show and the mobile release of Symphony of the Night, it's a good time to be a Castlevania fan – so to celebrate, we grabbed friend of the show Greg Moore for a look back at five of the best Castlevanias whose stars weren't whip-wielding Belmonts. Then it's time to dive into Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Call of Duty: Warzone, the most shocking E3 announcement in years, and your nominees for President and VP of videogames.
Super Tuesday left seemingly everyone angry about politics, so let's dedicate this week's show to the only politicians everyone can agree on: the absolute shithouse ones that pop up as major villains in videogames. With Alex Faciane - of Super Beard Bros, Chilluminati, and now Wunderling - on board, we lay into five soullessly ambitious lawmakers, after which we'll jump into the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo, The Division 2's Warlords of New York expansion, GDC getting postponed, and the anime y...
This week's release of One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows was precisely the shoddy excuse we needed to make like SNL's "J-Pop America Fun Time Now!" and geek out over anime, as we discuss 5 games you might not have known were made by anime creators. It was a topic too big for Matty and Chris to cover alone, so we enlisted the help of two very special guests this week: TL Foster of the PNB podcast network and first-time guest B_Ron of B_Ron Sports . Then we talk about this week's news and new rel...
Platinum Games is a studio known for extreme action and distinctive gameplay, so with Bayonetta and Vanquish out again as 10th Anniversary editions, let's take a look at some of the most unique gameplay hooks they've come up with, with help from Cicero Holmes of Rivals of Waterdeep. Then we'll briefly talk Maneater with Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson, get excited for Double Dragon & Kunio-Kun: Retro Brawler Bundle, and look at your favorite videogame couples.
Today is Valentine's Day, so let's take a look at some of gaming's most iconic couples, with help from Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios. We then take a close look at Dreams, Geoff Keighley's departure from E3, and your favorite Black videogame heroes.
In honor of Black History Month, TL Foster joins us this week for a celebration of five of our favorite Black videogame heroes, all of whom took the spotlight in their own games and helped redefine what their franchises could be. Then it's on to a look at The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics, a quick dip into GeForce Now, and your dark horse games of the decade.
It's finally time to reveal our picks for the greatest games of the past 10 years! And because we chose the list purely based on our personal preferences, dismissing silly ideas like "importance" or "cultural impact," we invited USGamer Editor in Chief Kat Bailey to lend some authenticity (and skepticism) to the proceedings before taking a look at your favorite games of the past 10 years.
Our march through the greatest games of the past 10 years continues this week, as Greg Moore rejoins us to run through five of Chris' personal picks ahead of next week's top 10. Then it's on to a look at Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Horizon: Zero Dawn PC rumors, and what E3 still means to you.
Our ongoing series on the greatest games of the 2010s continues! After covering five of Mikel's picks last week, this week's show focuses on five of Matt's nominees, with Jorge Albor of Experience Points along for the ride. Then it's on to Sony skipping E3, the Epic Games Store's success, and the games you're most looking forward to this year.
This isn't just our first show of the new year - it's our first show of a new decade! With that in mind, let's jump on the 2010s nostalgiawagon and count down our top 25 games of the previous decade, five games at a time. With TL Foster along to pass judgment, join us as we embark on a multi-episode series of Top 5s personally selected by each host (starting with Mikel's picks this week), eventually leading up to our definitive 10 games of the 2010s. And while we build toward that, let's take a ...
It's time for our seventh annual end-of-year show, in which we invite a rotating panel of guests to help us count down our top 10 games of the year! This year's show clocks in at just under 4 hours(!), and features appearances from Chris "Cbake" Baker, Carolyn Petit, Greg Moore, Steve Guntli, TL Foster, Leif Johnson, Kayla Zumbaum, and Jorge Albor! Join us, why don't you? Here's a quick cheat sheet with timestamps, if you want to jump around and hear which games made the list: 0:04:10: #10 (w/ L...
Who says 2D's dead? The year-end cavalcade continues as we take a look at five of our favorite retro-styled games to arrive this year, with help from Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski of Ultra 64! Then it's on to Wattam, news from the Game Awards, a new Xbox, and your favorite new characters of 2019.
2019 has been a great year for new and original games, and it's introduced a ton of new characters to the gaming canon. This week, Leif Johnson of MacWorld.com joins us to talk about five (OK, six [OK, seven]) new characters whose antics this year left us wanting to see more. Then it's on to MechWarrior 5, SuperMash, Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play (we'll talk about the Game Awards next week), and the games that convinced you to get a PlayStation.
PlayStation turned 25 this week! To celebrate, we invited PNB Podcast's TL Foster and Kayla Zumbaum to join us for a dive into the past and a look at five much-loved PSOne exclusives that never made the jump to later generations. Then we'll take a quick look at Phoenix Point, get wistful about the return of Toys 'R' Us, and hear about the games you crowdfunded and loved.
Shenmue 3 is just the latest example of crowdfunding as a way to bring back series and genres long thought dead – or to create new ones. This week, Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski of Ultra 64 join us to look at five of the best games ever to be funded by crowds, after which we dip into Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts, take a closer look at Stadia and streaming in general, and find out which villains you'd like to play as, even if they still lose. QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What's a crowdfunded proje...
Prequels can be tricky. Fans already know what happens next, so if you wanted to tell the story of doomed heroes on an ill-fated mission, they might be able to guess how it ends before they even start playing. TL Foster of PNB Podcast joins us for a look at five games whose heroes you knew were fated to fail, after which we'll talk about Jedi: Fallen Order, Pokémon Sword and Shield, The Game Awards Nominees, Stadia's launch, and your least-favorite recent game design trends. Question of the Week...
This week, Jorge Albor of Experience Points Podcast returns as we take a look at five examples of a strange modern gaming trend: semi-interactive sequences that make you stagger, stumble, or crawl helplessly while dramatic things happen around you. We then take a deep dive into Death Stranding, breathe a sigh of relief at the Sonic movie redesign, and dig into your favorite oddball games. QUESTION OF THE WEEK: What's a modern gaming trend that bugs you? ALSO: Want to update your feed while we tr...
Does Death Stranding really represent the arrival of a whole new game genre? To find out, we invited USGamer's Kat Bailey to tell us about the "strand" genre and to look back at five other games that defied any conventional genre definitions, becoming very much their own thing in the process. Then it's on to Death Stranding, Luigi's Mansion 3, BlizzCon news, and your favorite mundane stuff to do in games.
This week straddles the line between October and November, between Halloween and harvest season - and so does our show, with a look at five games that combine elements of farming and horror. Then it's onward to Outer Worlds and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, PlayStation Vue winding down, and your favorite villains.
Our final show before Halloween sends off October by tackling no less an evil than Satan himself, as we look at five of our favorite games that let you go toe-to-toe with the Devil. Things then get relaxing as we visit Eastshade, get excited about SUDA and SWERY joining forces, and shiver at the scariest games you've ever played.
Zombie hordes are a dime a dozen; chances to actually join them, less so. This week, GameXplain/IGN alum Micah Seff rejoins us to talk about games where a hero's demise turns them into flesh-hungry cannibals (at which point other heroes usually have to put them down). Then it's on to Disco Elysium, Ninja Saviors, Fortnite (briefly) disappearing into a black hole, and your scariest carnival stories.
Once-beloved children's entertainers are blazing nightmare fuel in videogames, where white makeup and red noses are all but synonymous with sadism and murder. While this week's Laser Time explores evil clowns in wider pop-culture, we're drilling down to find five of the most terrifying clowns ever to menace gamers. Then it's on to Indivisible, PlayStation 5 news, and your creepiest arcade experiences.
It's our first show of October, and tradition dictates spooky content. So join us in welcoming Podouken cohost Adam, who'll help us navigate through some of the most memorably fun horror-themed games ever to hit arcades. Then it's on to Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Shawn Layden leaving Sony, and the classic game series you'd like to see get FMV offshoots.
Whether you think of them as "full-motion video," "FMV," or "a regrettable trend in game design," cheesy interactive movies once seemed poised to take over the game industry - and with the help of MacWorld's Leif Johnson, we brave stilted dialogue (and our own audio issues) to revisit five fondly remembered FMV games from the distant '90s. Then we bite into Apple Arcade's games, get charmed by Link's Awakening, and look at the dead consoles you want to return as "classic" versions.
