If you haven't commandeered a car by jumping to it from your own speeding whip, can you really be said to have commandeered it at all? This week, we celebrate five games that let us accomplish the impossibly awesome feat of launching from one high-speed car to another, fluidly booting out the driver, and taking control. Then it's on to Ghosts 'n' Goblins Resurrection, Switch Pro rumors, Sony's State of Play, and the games that helped you through a year of lockdowns.
Mar 05, 2021•2 hr 56 min•Ep. 409
Everyone loves a good revenge story, so this week we're joined by Mike Williams of PCMag to take a look at five of the most gripping stories of single-minded, systematic payback produced by videogames. Then we'll explore Bravely Default 2, get lost in Persona 5 Strikers and Valheim, look at the news from BlizzCon, and hear your thoughts on series that should switch genre.
Feb 26, 2021•3 hr 51 min•Ep. 408
With Persona 5 Strikers - the Dynasty Warriors-flavored sequel to the original P5 RPG - out this week, we're joined by special guest Emmett Watkins of VGU.TV for a look at five sequels that switched to a new genre, forever changing the trajectory of their series. Then we'll dig into to Bowser's Fury, get stomped in Valheim, go through the Nintendo Direct news with a fine-toothed comb, and discuss the characters you'd want to see turn evil.
Feb 19, 2021•2 hr 26 min•Ep. 407
Abrupt heel-turns are always fun, especially in fighting games where a goody-two-shoes hero gives in to the Dark Power within and becomes a corrupted, evil version of themselves (usually with cooler moves). This week, we welcome Anthony Abatte to help us take a look at five fallen heroes of fighting games, after which we'll talk about Little Nightmares 2, casting HBO's The Last of Us, listen to some reconstructed Mario tunes, and hear about your parents' attitudes toward your gaming.
Feb 12, 2021•3 hr 32 min•Ep. 406
Los Angeles is the setting of roughly 500% of all motion pictures, and yet relatively few games have tried to turn its sun-baked sprawl into a game world. So this week, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five games that turned the City of Angels into an open(-ish)-world playground, after which we'll dive into The Medium, EA Sports bringing back college football, Stadia shuttering its studios, and the games you think should be adapted as anime.
Feb 05, 2021•3 hr 44 min•Ep. 405
Train levels are a pretty well-worn trope by this point; start at the caboose and fight your way up to the engine, all in a linear, narrow environment that allows for some variety as you move from car to car. As frequently as we've seen these, some are a lot more memorable than others, and a few even do something unique with the idea. So let's look at five of our favorites this week, after which we'll look at Cyber Shadow, try to understand the GameStop stock situation (as of Wednesday), and tal...
Jan 29, 2021•2 hr 59 min•Ep. 404
With the rebooted Hitman series hitting its third installment this week, we're joined by Tony Wilson of Framework for a look at three other franchises whose reboots were successful enough to spawn sequels and become new trilogies unto themselves. Then we dig into Hitman 3, talk about Mortal Kombat movie news, and look at the mostly dead gaming genres you'd love to bring back.
Jan 22, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep. 403
Ready to feel old? 2001 was a watershed year for videogames, with powerful 3D consoles and classic games that laid the groundwork for the modern era of gaming. It was also 20 years ago, meaning all those games are now two decades old. We've invited Larry Charles of Striking Distance Studios to help us through this sad realization by celebrating five unforgettable games from the now-distant past, after which we'll talk about Street Cleaner, the return of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game AND ...
Jan 15, 2021•3 hr 32 min•Ep. 402
We're back on our traditional yearly bullshit this week, kicking off the new year with a look forward at at five games we're especially excited for in 2021 (assuming they arrive this year). This is one of our shortest shows in years, but don't worry/get too comfortable, as we'll be back in full force next week.
Jan 08, 2021•59 min•Ep. 401
It's the end of the worst year in recent memory, but a great year for games - so let's take one last look back and anoint our 10 favorites! Clocking in at just under 4 hours, this year's show features appearances from Jorge Albor, Kat Bailey, Chris "Cbake" Baker, TL Foster, Steve Guntli, Leif Johnson, Micah Seff, Tony Wilson, and Kayla Zumbaum. It's a veritable explodaganza of long discussions about amazing games, so join us as we fondly remember the best parts of the worst year!
Jan 01, 2021•4 hr•Ep. 400
We really wanted to go with a holiday theme for our last real show of 2020, but in the end, what's more appropriate to Holiday 2020 than grabbing Greg Moore for a look at how videogames have portrayed the collapse of brick-and-mortar retail? Then it's on to Super Meat Boy Forever, Nintendo's Year in Review, and your thoughts on playing games right at launch vs. waiting for bugs to get fixed.
Dec 25, 2020•2 hr 54 min•Ep. 399
2020 has been a terrible year for most things, but a stellar year for games - including a smattering of remakes that took a fresh look at old favorites. As we lead up to our big year-end show on the best games of 2020, we've grabbed PNB's TL Foster and given five amazing remakes that didn't fit in our top 10 their own show. Then it's on to plenty of Cyberpunk 2077 chatter, a few announcements and anointments from The Game Awards, and your preferences vis-a-vis dark or light futures.
Dec 18, 2020•2 hr 24 min•Ep. 398
Cyberpunk 2077 came out hours before we recorded this week's show, so we don't have a lot to say about it yet. Luckily, there are tons of cyberpunk videogames not named "Cyberpunk," so we grabbed Leif Johnson for a look at five of the greatest cyberpunk series of all time. Then it's on to (what else?) initial impressions of Cyberpunk 2077, a smattering of movie news, the Persona 5 Strikers reveal, and the games you feel will define the PS4 era.
Dec 11, 2020•2 hr 1 min•Ep. 397
This week, we pay overdue tribute to the passing of the PS4 era with help from Gamespot/LaserTime alum Tony Wilson who’s launching a new video channel called FrameWork, and who helps us look back on five of the best PS4 exclusives (all of which are still fully exclusive, and which came out pre-2020 so we don’t repeat ourselves on this year’s Game of the Year show). Then it’s on to Immortals Fenyx Rising, Chronos: Before the Ashes, Super Nintendo World opening soon, and the games you’d prefer to ...
Dec 04, 2020•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 396
With Ready Player Two out this week, we've decided to turn up the nostalgia dial to absurd levels by recruiting Greg Moore for a look at five videogames that, one way or another, were about nostalgia for videogames. Then it's on to some chat about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, the holiday console-scalping epidemic, cloud gaming, and the open worlds you'd love to revisit.
Nov 27, 2020•2 hr 18 min•Ep. 395
We're coming back to the table this week with clearer impressions of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X - but first, let's take a look at five of the rare few open-world games that actually re-used their open worlds, with PNB's Kayla Zumbaum! Then we'll bite into Bugsnax, Demon's Souls, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, The Game Awards announcements, and your favorite third-party launch games.
Nov 20, 2020•3 hr 57 min•Ep. 394
IT'S NEW-CONSOLE WEEK! We're super-excited for the debut of the Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, but before we get to those, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five times third-party games swept in and stole the show in a new console's launch lineup! Then it's on to Assassin's Creed Valhalla, early Xbox Series X impressions, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, Prodeus, and the arcade classics you'd like to see return as Arcade1up-style replicas.
Nov 13, 2020•3 hr 45 min•Ep. 393
As November begins and we're faced with the mystery of who our next President will be, it's as good a time as any to lose ourselves in the fictional mysteries of our favorite detective games with Octobug developer Eric Bailey. Then we talk about Sega selling off its arcade business, Arcade1up introducing its first sit-down driving cabinet, and the historical settings you'd like to see horror games in.
Nov 06, 2020•2 hr 6 min•Ep. 392
We're closing out Spooptober 2020 with the grimmest, bleakest topic we could think of: horror games set in, around, and within the (sometimes literal) fallout of the Soviet Union. With history buff Jeremy King of Tweakalicious.tv on board, we'll also dig into Watch Dogs: Legion, Ghostrunner, Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues, news from Nintendo's final Direct of 2020, and the politicians and celebs you'd like to see stream a game next.
Oct 30, 2020•2 hr 17 min•Ep. 391
High school is a breeding ground for all sorts of lifelong fears and anxieties, so of course it's a perfect setting for otherwordly terror. With friend of the show Micah Seff in attendance, we talk about five games that used locker-lined halls and impersonal classrooms to create scares, after which we talk about Torchlight III, Blizzard possibly moving away from RTS games, and your hometown cryptids and legends.
Oct 23, 2020•2 hr 19 min•Ep. 390
Our greatest Spooptober episode yet is here! The inimitable Alex Faciane of Chilluminati Podcast (among other things) joins us for a look at five real(ish) cryptids — creatures people swear they've seen but whose existence remains unconfirmed — that have made multiple videogame appearances over the years. Then it's on to a heated discussion of the Monster Hunter movie trailer, Sega's surprise 60th-anniversary games, and the classic Nintendo games you think should get the battle royale treatment....
Oct 16, 2020•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 389
Spooptober continues with a look at the Greek pantheon's gloomiest god, as Leif Johnson rejoins us to sift through some of Hades' more memorable videogame appearances. Then we shift to talking about Star Wars Squadrons, Crash 4, Super Mario Bros. 35, and Baldur's Gate III, before moving on to Sony's PS5 teardown video and your favorite zombie games with a twist.
Oct 09, 2020•2 hr 47 min•Ep. 388
It's the start of October, which means we're switching to horror-focused topics and bad Dracula impressions between now and Halloween! We're kicking things off with a look at five zombie games that - despite featuring the most cliched enemies imaginable - managed to stand out with unique gameplay hooks. Then it's on to Genshin Impact, Mafia: Definitive Edition, Peter Parker's new face, and your favorite memories of the 3DS.
Oct 02, 2020•2 hr 22 min•Ep. 387
Nintendo's 3DS is officially kaput, so this week we invite Ultra 64's Steve Guntli and Woody Ciskowski to help us celebrate nine stellar years of no-glasses 3D with a look at five of our favorite 3DS essentials. Then it's on to extensive chat about Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Hades, Microsoft acquiring Bethesda, a week of nonstop preorder clusterfucks, and your next-gen plans now that most of the cards are on the table.
Sep 25, 2020•3 hr 19 min•Ep. 386
With Spelunky 2 out this week, we're rejoined by Experience Points' Jorge Albor for a look at five games that started life as freeware projects before moving on to commercial success. Then it's on to PlayStation 5 news, Paradise Killer, Fight Crab, Ubisoft Forward's reveals, and whether the Xbox announcements changed your next-gen plans.
Sep 18, 2020•2 hr 14 min•Ep. 385
Everything we wanted to know about the new Xboxes - price, launch date, existence of the rumored Series S, and so on - has been revealed, but we're a little distracted by a certain limited-edition compilation with one glaring omission. So distracted that we're doing a whole Top 5 about games that mysteriously failed to make the cut when it came time to bundle and remaster their series, after which we'll get to the Xbox news as well as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1&2, the comics you'd want to turn int...
Sep 11, 2020•3 hr 50 min•Ep. 384
Do you like collecting comics? Do you enjoy videogames? Do you insist that those two hobbies be about each other? Fiiiine. With Marvel's Avengers out this week, let's grab PNB's TL Foster for a look at five games that used comic books as collectibles, after which we'll jump into Avengers, Vader Immortal, Madden NFL 21, Gamescom reveals, NVIDIA's new 30 series, and the toy lines you think deserve their own videogames.
Sep 04, 2020•2 hr 27 min•Ep. 383
Weeks like this are enough to make anyone want to retreat into childhood nostalgia - and we've delivered a brief chance to do exactly that, as Greg Moore joins us to talk about five games that let us play as toys from our childhoods. Then we'll talk Battletoads, confuse Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad, and hear your confessions about the dumbest things you've ordered during the pandemic.
Aug 28, 2020•3 hr 33 min•Ep. 382
With the US Postal Service currently under siege, now seemed like a good time to grab friend of the show Leif Johnson and pay tribute to some of gaming's greatest postal workers, who tirelessly deliver letters and packages that don't really exist across virtual worlds. Then we talk about seeing our houses from Microsoft Flight Simulator, get hard in Mortal Shell, touch the Apple-Epic fight with a 10-foot pole, and talk about your videogame animal phobias.
Aug 21, 2020•3 hr 37 min•Ep. 381
Shark Week is here at last, so we invited animal expert Cody Laveau on board for a look at five terrifying sharks who - rather than trying to eat you, as is custom - want nothing more than to be your friend. Then it's on to chat about Risk of Rain 2, Hyper Scape, The Xbox Series X controller leak, Sony's State of Play, and the price you're willing to pay for next-gen consoles.
Aug 14, 2020•2 hr 21 min•Ep. 380
