Game Scoop! 832: Our Favorite PS5 & Xbox Games

Interactive Transcript

spk_0 Game of the Century Watch finally catches up with the current generation of consoles PS5 and Xbox Series X and S

spk_0 Plus Nintendo Switch 2 is already sold over 10 million units and Donkey Kong finances doing very well for

spk_0 Big the big ape all this and more coming up on Game Scoop right after these messages

spk_0 What's up everybody welcome to IJ and Game Scoop. I'm your host Damon had Phil and joining me here in studio is Nick Lamone

spk_0 I'm back baby Sam Clayborn is here

spk_0 Everybody and Justin Davis scoop and we got a great show for this week

spk_0 We will continue our game of the century discussion with the most recent games and we have to discuss what we've been playing

spk_0 Which will include but is not limited to Mortal Kombat legacy collection and ball pit, but first

spk_0 Let's check in with the listeners. Hey listen. Hey listeners. Listeners. Remember you can always reach us at the email address

spk_0 Game Scoop at ijn.com just just like Charlie Gadson in San Diego did

spk_0 Charlie says Ken there can there be only one Final Fantasy game on the game of the century list during the Xbox one and PS4 submission

spk_0 Submissions no one mentioned Final Fantasy 14. I get it. It isn't a game the scoop panel has much if any experience with

spk_0 However, it cannot be overstated how insanely good and popular the game is if you love any Final Fantasy game

spk_0 You'll find something here for you as someone who also thinks Final Fantasy 6 is the best in the series

spk_0 14 gives it a run for its money

spk_0 This is probably the hardest email to write because I am tempted to go on and on about how it's not only the world's best

spk_0 MMO but also both one of the most robust thoughtful

spk_0 profound and character rich stories in any video game a story that isn't necessarily there for the spectacle of which there's plenty

spk_0 But rather exists to discuss real and often uncomfortable feelings with swaths of long redemption arcs

spk_0 Which always feel earned that is all and let's make sure to put Astro bot on next week's list

spk_0 So yeah Charlie guess and I have never played a Final Fantasy 14 or any other MMO, but maybe Nick or Justin I can I can corroborate

spk_0 I do think that Final Fantasy 14. I've only played up through shadowbringer so far

spk_0 So I'm a little bit, you know, I put a pause on my subscription not because

spk_0 You know, I don't like the game at all. It's just one of those I can only play so many Final Fantasy games back to back to back to back

spk_0 and every single one of those games like

spk_0 uh

spk_0 Aralmra born to heaven's ward to storm

spk_0 Stormblood is its own standalone Final Fantasy game that works as a standalone Final Fantasy game with all of the baggage of everything that came before

spk_0 but um, yeah

spk_0 For the longest time I played pre 2.0 pat or the pre

spk_0 Post game Aralmra born patch

spk_0 Basically, I had to play a lot of filler content to get to the good stuff in the base game of Aralmra born

spk_0 And for the longs I was like I don't think this is for me. This is kind of boring

spk_0 But once you jump into the magitech armor from Final Fantasy 6 and you know what the actual like who the bad guy is for the base game

spk_0 That's when Final Fantasy 14 really shines and I was locked in from there all the way through stormblood and

spk_0 Yeah, I agree it is certainly one of the best modern traditional Final Fantasy games despite being a MMO

spk_0 You don't really have to engage that much with the MMO stuff if you don't want to the game does a really good job of making it feel like a solo

spk_0 soloable experience and

spk_0 Yeah, fantastic music from soken you see why people like

spk_0 Mr

spk_0 Yeah, Yoshida and yeah, I

spk_0 Fantastic game and it takes the coolest part of Final Fantasy of the job system and makes it very fun and flexible

spk_0 Which I really appreciate is sitting and or not

spk_0 Yeah, city's in it. He is indeed in it

spk_0 10 and spoiler there's these pilots in airship

spk_0 I know he'll be all surprised to hear that I played a decent amount of ff 14 and so you know

spk_0 Whatever I don't need to y'all can anybody's yum, but I did talk about world of warcraft on you know game of the century watching

spk_0 That is my personal MMO of choice at least in so far as we're talking about game of the century

spk_0 But yeah, I mean ff 14's a good time. I mean I play these games

spk_0 Usually solo are very light grouping and I'm usually playing them to play through you know

spk_0 The zones and story content so pretty casually right they're gonna subscribe for three or six months

spk_0 See everything new and then you know, and then I'll come back into it three years and I play through several MMOs that way actually and

spk_0 I do give the ff 14 a huge amount of credit

spk_0 And that you touched on this a second ago that the job system is

spk_0 Just so brilliant because you don't really need to roll alts where you can just change your job

spk_0 And like I feel like healing for a week and now I'm gonna change my job

spk_0 And I feel like doing damage now I'm gonna change my job and I feel like tanking for a while and like

spk_0 That freedom and flexibility to just sort of build your character how you want and you know sort of do everything all in one

spk_0 Instead of like, you know, wow is my MMO of choice, but in that game to accomplish you know sort of a similar

spk_0 You know pace of gameplay is like you just have to be rolling alts all the time and be maintaining a million different characters

spk_0 That that kind of MMO game design feels a little bit outdated

spk_0 And so that's that's my personal favorite thing about ff 14 it also has just a really fantastic sense of exploration

spk_0 The world is really cool really interesting. That's always my favorite part of every MMO and ff 14 does it extremely well

spk_0 Yeah, and I think like for people who are final fantasy freaks like myself

spk_0 It is like the perfect like oh, I recognize that thing smile like

spk_0 There's an area spoilers in I think it's heaven's word

spk_0 I forget where you go to Mathoya's cave and the song plays all right, all right, all right rules

spk_0 So just seeing all that stuff that's in there. It's just so nice and it's so classy. It doesn't feel cheap

spk_0 And it's just really cool and also they understand the class system in a way

spk_0 I was like they know what you want to play in a final fantasy game. Do you want to run squalls gunblade great?

spk_0 There's a whole class designed around using a gun that is also a sword. That's awesome

spk_0 So they they know what the kids like

spk_0 well

spk_0 Not and I'm not an MMO guy, but I have to admit it looks very cool just from all the footage for seeing here and what I'm hearing

spk_0 Okay, so as we move into ps5 and xbox series x

spk_0 What I the first thing I noticed is it's kind of slim pickens I think

spk_0 For the current generation

spk_0 It's a little bit of a bummer. Yeah, thinking about games that would

spk_0 Could stand up to games from previous generations and we've talked a lot about how there's been sort of

spk_0 Overall disappointment in this generation right

spk_0 But but leaving out leaving switch for the last conversation is part of that right?

spk_0 For every you know a third of the games that have come out that have been wonderful have been on the switch

spk_0 We addressed it. Yeah, there's absolutely incredible games on the series x and ps5 but like you know it's good as half life too

spk_0 It's crazy, but I do agree with Charlie Gatz and San Diego the afterbought would go on there

spk_0 My my loan in that no no I have it on my my my short list of pickens. No, it's

spk_0 Absolutely, it's the

spk_0 It's the closest anyone has ever come to Nintendo quality 3d platforming and it makes me wish

spk_0 Nintendo would make its own astro bot just meaning you know a full 3d platformer

spk_0 That's also a celebration of Nintendo's past and heritage and full. Yeah, that's the kid

spk_0 I like that idea. It's like in Nintendo reference about Nintendo's stuff. Smash brothers it exactly take all the

spk_0 The the Nintendo history that's in smash brothers put it in a big you know 3d Mario platform. Mm-hmm. Yeah, that'd be that'd be rad. Yeah

spk_0 All right, Nick what's what else would you nominate?

spk_0 Uh, honestly this one is one that I'm very surprised by because I was so against it at launch not that I was again

spk_0 I just didn't think it was very good at launch, but in 2023 they fixed their act together and it's a cyberpunk

spk_0 2077 with its fan some liberty 2.0 update

spk_0 They completely overhauled that game that was borderline or it is unrecognizable from how it was at launch

spk_0 I played that game at launch and was very very disappointed

spk_0 I'd waited since that you know that bullets trailer teaser that they aired back in 2013 CD project red and I was

spk_0 High for a decade and then

spk_0 Met with kind of just

spk_0 Beh response when I first played the game, but

spk_0 Coming back into the game with its 2.0 launch that overhauled its RPG systems that made the game feel like an actual RPG

spk_0 The game overhauled its lighting system. So it on PC is just a technical like

spk_0 Showcase to this day. I still think it's one of the best looking games. That's out on the market now and Phantom Liberty the expansion itself tells the story that I think I

spk_0 I

spk_0 the hard sci-fi

spk_0 Espionage and like you know political intrigue that I wished was in the base game because the base game feels very

spk_0 Surface level in terms of how it treats cyberpunk from a subject matter if uses it more as an aesthetic as opposed to

spk_0 I think something to say

spk_0 Whereas Phantom Liberty is all pure cyberpunk high-tech low-life and how different organizational bodies will take advantage of anything

spk_0 They can in order to get a leg up in this proxy war and this game just

spk_0 It completely turned me around and I am now cannot wait to see what Orion the next cyberpunk game is going to be because Phantom Liberty is just so good

spk_0 Yeah, I agree. I think I actually overlooked I should have included this one on my shortlist. I haven't played even played Phantom to Liberty

spk_0 I need I need to get to that at some point, but I loved even just the base game

spk_0 I love that I actually love the story and that's saying a lot for coming from someone who I usually just just doesn't care about story and video games

spk_0 But the story is great the performances are great. I love the world and yeah, this this is totally

spk_0 worthy of mention

spk_0 Sam Justin I would either agree with this at the top of my list. Yeah, I yeah

spk_0 I actually loved it at launch so like yes, I know I had problems and I had this like borrowed a tank of a PC from work

spk_0 played it everybody I know was playing it and it was like a community experience. It was also

spk_0 in the middle of the pandemic

spk_0 And it was really it was represented this like really difficult time to get worked on around video games

spk_0 And I loved it. I just like it's a really good feeling to have this wonderful game to play

spk_0 It I love Johnny Silverhand. I love the city and I play Phantom one really

spk_0 I like that I had no problems with the base game though. I thought it was really good

spk_0 But more than anything else. I think this is like the model of

spk_0 I mean for before I even get to that all the E3 appearances at this game were so fun

spk_0 And to me this connects us to

spk_0 A pasta doesn't exist anymore of hyping a game so much that it can come out and still be a masterpiece and still be under

spk_0 Under what you under expectations, right? Like this is just a really interesting time period. I miss that. I miss E3

spk_0 I miss seeing this in a big

spk_0 freezing-ass room

spk_0 For a half an hour real quick you're right because like this you know this is out in 2020

spk_0 So this would have been shown at the last E3 in 2019

spk_0 Last time we would go like have a behind closed doors demo like we're in a theater and they're doing a very like guided game

spk_0 There's a bar. It's like a 45 minute. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's just people in costume everywhere leading you through it. Yes

spk_0 They had the inside out jackets. They were handing. It's just everything was cool about it

spk_0 And then just to conclude I like how janky this game was when it came out for a couple other reasons like there was money exploits

spk_0 And there was like funny stuff you could do and you could just get away with a lot

spk_0 And it wasn't fulfilling all of its promises

spk_0 But it also felt like this open-world game that I want developers to make

spk_0 I want them to make games that have this this quality level that they're trying to attain

spk_0 And it's really impressive and they thought out everything and then it's still a playground

spk_0 That's what I want I want the playground to be there like some games just get so rigid with like listen

spk_0 You're never gonna fall through the environment in this game

spk_0 But you're also gonna have to run all the way around this mountain on our path to get to the top of it like that's just

spk_0 It's just not my thing. So love this game. Yeah, it is. I mean

spk_0 There's so clearly like playground is such a good way to put it of like you know

spk_0 You can double jump and get on the geometry and weird ways and you can end up on the top of these skyscrapers

spk_0 That you're not meant to go up on but they all have collision detection and sometimes as a chest up there

spk_0 It's the same thing we were talking about with I think docky Kong some weeks back so like they put cheeky coins in places just to say

spk_0 Yeah, we knew it was possible for you to get up here

spk_0 And like cyberpunk has some of that going on with it too

spk_0 Love that it would be on my short list as well. I think

spk_0 I would chime in and sort of something that you all didn't touch on quite as much yet

spk_0 Nikki Brad up was it but just the

spk_0 Diversity of like gameplay builds and the opportunity for player expression of like you know

spk_0 What kind of like cyberpunk archetype do you want to be like do you want to be going around and hacking your environment and

spk_0 It's a little bit the equivalent of like the Skyrim like are you a stealth archer a sword and board warrior

spk_0 But like you know there's there's real

spk_0 There's real differences in how you can approach these situations and you know

spk_0 I played the game my character class was just swords

spk_0 I was just swords everywhere all day every day. I was actually really interesting way to play that game. Yeah, it was samurai

spk_0 I mean, I guess I don't know. I just it was just I just I kept it simple Nick. It was just swords

spk_0 I did the hacker path what you like you barely you do combat

spk_0 It's you do so much stuff to avoid combat. It's fun. I mean that's what I do love about the game

spk_0 I'm not to go on for for more on this game which has been talked to death at this point

spk_0 But I do really love that all of its RPG systems whether you're cognizant of a not

spk_0 Force you to roleplay within the very distinct vision of cyberpunk that creator of the you know world mic ponsmith had

spk_0 For cyberpunk in general, and I just think that it's it doesn't hit you over the head with it

spk_0 You just suddenly become a street samurai you become a solo and you start to learn about like. Oh, who is this guy?

spk_0 You know Johnny Silverhand he has a past obviously, but then you start to the game really encourages you to do your own research in terms of

spk_0 Learning more about its world and setting in a way that not a lot of games do because a lot of games are like

spk_0 We came up with this incredible world

spk_0 We're gonna shove down your throat and tell you everything you need to know about it

spk_0 The game's just like it's there if you want to read up about it, but otherwise just enjoy the game

spk_0 And also it is wild that I'm looking at I'm right now in the podcast

spk_0 I'm looking at footage of the game on a tiny little monitor in a PIP with all of us that you guys are seeing now

spk_0 And every time I look at the game

spk_0 I just cannot believe that this game looks the way it does still to this day in 2025 where we have seen very visually impressive games

spk_0 But just the sheer density and the verticality of it is just stunning to look at

spk_0 Almost like it shouldn't ever have come to PS4 and X-Correct

spk_0 But dude, I just I I'm hoping you know I you fooled me once shame on shame on you

spk_0 I'm sorry shame on me, but this is what has me excited for Orion because I think that they've learned a lot of lessons

spk_0 With this first game in terms of how you do your leveling progression

spk_0 How you do your quest stuff the street cred stuff doesn't quite work

spk_0 But I do see this being a alpha of something that's gonna be even greater

spk_0 Yeah, and this game runs pretty okay on switch two

spk_0 Yeah, it runs great on switch two. It's it's wild

spk_0 All right

spk_0 Sirepunk is a as a great mention

spk_0 Justin you said you only had one game to nominate this week, so right?

spk_0 Yeah, my mine has got to be Baldur's Gate 3. Oh, thank goodness. That's a big one

spk_0 Absolutely incredible. It's a little bit of a hard game to talk about because it's like talking about what makes a book

spk_0 So incredible if someone else hasn't read the book right it just it's one of those experiences that you finish it

spk_0 And you're just like so deeply grateful that you experienced it, but you're also it's like 85 or 100 hours long

spk_0 So it's like you're also just kind of like hollow and then it's like you're closing the book on these characters that like

spk_0 You know, I'm gonna carry it with me like the rest of my life for sure, right?

spk_0 And I did I

spk_0 Started replaying it and then got pulled on to some other stuff and like hearing the music again

spk_0 It was like

spk_0 It's like it's absolutely gonna be one of those like every five years. I'm gonna go back and go through this again

spk_0 You know in the part that maybe is a little bit more accessible

spk_0 You don't need to have experienced it to understand what makes it so great is just on a systems in gameplay level

spk_0 Like Damon, I know you haven't played it, but I know you like divinity. Oh, no, I have I have played it. Oh, you did play and I loved it

spk_0 World and like you know, it's actually a little bit like cyberpunk in that way of like they just trust like its systems driven right

spk_0 It's a little bit like Zelda of like you know, this can catch on fire

spk_0 You know, this can be greased up

spk_0 Like this can happen this way in the game just trusts you

spk_0 It's not like here's how you have to solve this combat encounter

spk_0 And it's also not even like well here's the four or five ways we think you might want to solve this combat encounter

spk_0 Is it just gives you the playground and then whatever tools you want like you know

spk_0 Charm the enemy like build I watched this youtuber called a proxy gate tactician that just beats the game and crazier and crazier

spk_0 And crazier ways and it usually revolves around him building a giant tower of crates and then just dropping stuff onto the enemies and like killing them in the game

spk_0 Just allows it it lets you play that way

spk_0 And so like from a from an RPG system standpoint

spk_0 There's never been anything like it and the fact that they pulled that off and pulled off

spk_0 You know if someone wanted to make an argument that this was the greatest story told in an ever

spk_0 Ever told in the video game like it's definitely up there and the fact that both are there and both work and are executed to such a high degree is incredible

spk_0 I'm snapping if you might not be able to

spk_0 I mean maybe the best you know western RPG video game ever made

spk_0 Maybe yeah, I mean it's almost like my one criticism is it's almost it's almost too big of like

spk_0 But the time you get to the city of Baldur's Gate

spk_0 Just mentally you're kind of like you're getting into like borderline wrap it up mode

spk_0 And you have like half the game like it's unbelievable how much there still is you're just like what like there's this whole giant city

spk_0 And hundreds more side quests and all this more stuff to do like so so

spk_0 If from a pacing standpoint that's really the only thing of like the you know, they almost gave us too much

spk_0 I'm sorry you gave me they I'm sorry they gave you too much video game Justin

spk_0 No, yeah, I think I was 40 hours when I hit act two. I was like oh my god

spk_0 But yeah, I mean I couldn't have said it any better. The only thing I'll add to this is

spk_0 For the longest time I being you know the final fantasy nerd that I am I always wanted to play Dungeons & Dragons tabletop

spk_0 I just never really had a

spk_0 Group of friends who I could convince to

spk_0 Do this and for the first time you know whatever I could muster with a group of friends locally

spk_0 It would always be you know your level one dungeon adventure where it's like oh man

spk_0 We're fighting rats and stuff like that

spk_0 But the thing that I really love about this is the game opens that like what I would consider the end game for a Dungeons & Dragons tabletop

spk_0 Where you're aboard a mind-flayer ship you're traveling through different dimensions and that's just the opening like 30 seconds of the game

spk_0 And it's just it immediately in medias res is

spk_0 Transporting you to what you think is like a one day. I want to play Dungeons & Dragons and get to experience the the the heights of the of the game

spk_0 And this game just facilitates that and it gives you a dungeon master who is competent knows what they're doing and

spk_0 Happen to be a damn good writer to

spk_0 Well said

spk_0 Sam have you have we convinced you to check out Baldur's Gate 3

spk_0 Yeah, man, I just need the 120 hours

spk_0 Yeah, you like breaking games and everything about it's great. I just it looks wonderful. I can't wait to play

spk_0 Um are we including switch two games on this list? Yeah, yes, yes

spk_0 There are no rules Sam

spk_0 Um because obviously the Amario Odyssey killer Donkey Kong, Grenanza would know

spk_0 There's there's no we're all saying that three months ago. I just want to point out

spk_0 I don't know I don't know how that game's ever said super my Odyssey was

spk_0 Yeah, no

spk_0 I still adore Donkey Kong, but it's a good game and we have we have data today that shows it's selling very well

spk_0 It is selling very well. Uh, we'll get to that. What did you call the great ape? What'd you say? I think I don't know

spk_0 So yeah, it doesn't blacks out when he opens the show

spk_0 Uh some of the games have already been mentioned. I'm in a throw in a kind of uh

spk_0 It's not really a curveball, but what I think is might be the best licensed game ever besides Arkham

spk_0 Which I also brought in here, but I think Indiana Jones in the great circle is a masterpiece and for some unusual reasons

spk_0 One is the license one is the incredible

spk_0 incredible voice acting

spk_0 Uh, and and facial animations and everything that brought Indiana Jones that game in not a single moment is like uncanny or weird

spk_0 It's so good

spk_0 And then I just like the style of a game like uncharted

spk_0 I thought that's all we'd be getting for the rest of our lives once Tomb Raider did it right and then they just stopped

spk_0 Uncharted stops

spk_0 And so this is the one this generation and and I think

spk_0 You know, it's funny to have a feedback loop of like uncharted and Tomb Raider drew from Indiana Jones

spk_0 But there was never good Indiana Jones this type of game. There's been good adventure games way back

spk_0 And then like now this is like more like an uncharted game

spk_0 It's more like but it's more like the later Tomb Raider games because as the open world

spk_0 All that stuff just made it really interesting

spk_0 um

spk_0 And I think about it all the time like it's just like a game. I'm just like oh man

spk_0 Uh, I just love that Egypt level right? I just it's just it's so amazing and it's uh it's just crystal clear graphics and such good

spk_0 Such good mixes of levels like there's these sequences that are completely linear uncharted levels

spk_0 And there's completely open world levels and they all feel great everything feels great

spk_0 I just I think it's the height of the series x and you know

spk_0 I'm not gonna bring in Halo Infinite because I love that game and I think it's really great

spk_0 But I think about like what made the series x

spk_0 What it was it's kind of those two games for me and for it so right

spk_0 Yeah, it's a great game the relief that I felt and I'm not gonna spoil exactly what happened

spk_0 But you open the game and you're playing at really iconic moment from the movies right and like

spk_0 It's executed so

spk_0 Well that like that feeling of like oh my god, they nailed it

spk_0 Just because you didn't know like before the game comes out before the game comes out you're like oh boy

spk_0 I don't know like did they pull it off and like it's such a statement that opening

spk_0 I don't know how long it lasts 30 minutes maybe like that as a statement piece was like was just fantastic

spk_0 And then obviously the rest of the game delivered on that promise and shout out to the Wolfenstein games too

spk_0 I mean those are really cool games and maybe like a future Wolfenstein game

spk_0 Will be one of the best games ever made. I mean to be beginning of the last game was incredible. Yeah

spk_0 But yeah, yeah, I love this game. Although I never I think I stopped it like the push to like the last area

spk_0 Yeah, I'd like to get back up to that at some point

spk_0 But let's also just like show it kind of opens the door like

spk_0 They got to do they could take other like sort of dormant franchises because nobody cared about dialogue destiny, right and in

spk_0 Make them turn them into a video game and get just sound alike voice actors to just recreate these characters, right?

spk_0 Like they could like do it with the matrix the secrets of the secret to success is just create an immersive sim

spk_0 They're not making anymore day sexes or dishonored so take a license that's dormant make it an immersive sim call it a day

spk_0 I'm all for it. Yeah, and then it saw it's just purely out of 20 questions importance your character wears at yes

spk_0 Definitively yeah definitively you know you all is also the Nazis are the antagonists in this and sometimes Indiana Jones

spk_0 Just like killing people want to lay like a Nathan Drake is let's get to get back to the Nazis. Mm-hmm. Yep

spk_0 Well, it's because they they tried getting away in temple of doom, right? Yeah, never since then it's like no the half the bad guys have to be Nazis and also the giant priest

spk_0 Oh, there is that guy. Yeah, or whatever he is the

spk_0 giant

spk_0 Yeah

spk_0 Okay

spk_0 Well the next game I nominate I don't think will be a surprise to anyone

spk_0 It would be Elden ring

spk_0 Nice also on my list

spk_0 What is I mean what is there what what is there a save at Elden ring that hasn't already been said one of the best open worlds if not the best open world

spk_0 To explore in video games breath the wild tears the kingdom might have a claim to make there but

spk_0 Man like think about like

spk_0 What I would just when I think back of my time playing through that game going through

spk_0 Plains for swamps mountains scorched earth and then diving into caves and mines digging down into the earth and then going into

spk_0 Dungeons and castles with all the verticality like I just feels it's an epic memory in my mind

spk_0 Like the journey that I went on in that game it is and like you can play the game on its own terms like the Dark Souls hard Dark Souls

spk_0 Combat and now like lore strewn about everywhere but like you can also just like we talk about breaking games

spk_0 There's ways to break it in in ways that the

spk_0 Developers might not have intended

spk_0 But then there's also just you know ways you can just just go room farm just go room farm for a while until you're

spk_0 Opian off and you can just

spk_0 Bulldoze your way past this boss or maybe there's a new item an weapon or a piece of armor that you don't have yet

spk_0 That you think will give you a leg up

spk_0 Getting that item will send you on a whole sort of mini adventure that takes you to multiple locations

spk_0 And then you end up coming back to where you wanted to get you in the first place and I don't it's just

spk_0 Not no game has ever felt this epic and as as open to me although you know

spk_0 You guys also make good points about bothers get three

spk_0 I mean it's the it's it's wild to talk about Elden ring because of how ubiquitous it's become just in terms of

spk_0 The general gaming public and even the non gaming public know what Elden ring is which is wild coming from the people who

spk_0 You know were considered a B tier publisher publishing quote-unquote budget games like eternal ring or ever grace or whatever

spk_0 And it's just like how did they go from making that to to this stuff

spk_0 You know stuff that nobody wanted to review back when demon souls and dark souls came out to this is like

spk_0 This is the most high profile game of quite possibly the decade, you know, and it's just only Elden ring could have

spk_0 gotten from soft to that point, you know what I mean like a game of this scope and size and also accessibility

spk_0 That can bring them from obscure publisher and developer to something that is just now synonymous kind of with like I would like in it to

spk_0 You know the heaviest of hitters in terms of developers like up there with CD project red and whatnot

spk_0 Yeah, it's like it's the kind of game that when it's all over and done with it's there's a little sadness because who knows if we'll ever have a game like this again

spk_0 Elden ring to win

spk_0 I do like player version. I do like Night Ring quite a bit Night Ring rocks

spk_0 Night Ring is not for me. It's not quite the doesn't scratch the Elden ring it's for me, but yeah remember the switch to version

spk_0 That's gonna come out sometime. Yeah, they got got delayed. Yeah, right

spk_0 Okay, Elden ring anything else to nominate Nick?

spk_0 Um, I'm sorry to do this. I have to do it though because I feel it in my soul and I

spk_0 I originally nominated the original Resident Evil 4 for the Gamecube version of this and

spk_0 I think they're making their two. I think they're both in there. I think Resident Evil 4 remake has to be on this list

spk_0 I've been ever since that episode. I've been thinking about RE4 remakes

spk_0 So literally last night I loaded up RE4 remake play through the opening chapter where the village is chasing you and the bell rings and

spk_0 Where's everyone going? Be going and just like I put the controller down. I was like

spk_0 This game's incredible man. Like this game is so good

spk_0 How do they take a masterpiece and then just like one up themselves? I'm like yeah

spk_0 We also made another masterpiece in remaking this original masterpiece

spk_0 Everything about this game just feels good to play it looks insane

spk_0 It's just so fun the guns are all so unique. There's so many different ways of playing this game

spk_0 The replay ability the value of the mercenaries added on the separate ways DLC and just oh, it's so good. It's so good, Damon

spk_0 It would be a lot of people to be able to play 234 like right in a row and they're all just exquisite games. Mm-hmm truly

spk_0 Yeah, just every time I see footage this game like I should I should play some more Resident Evil 4 remake right now

spk_0 Like it's just so good. Yep. I love this. It would be wild to have both the original and the remake on the list and both breath the wild enters the game

spk_0 When you get it right you get it right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, that's a really good one

spk_0 Sam how about you?

spk_0 Another game. Yeah, okay

spk_0 This one's a little bit of a twist and I think about it all the time and I really really enjoy it

spk_0 And it's for some really specific reasons. So I'm gonna throw two Nick out there

spk_0 It's not because it's like cute little Zelda game. It's great. It's because of the manual and because of the way it thought out

spk_0 What did what does paper and guides and packaging and and what did those all add to the original experience of playing a game and that's what we've lost this generation

spk_0 That's what's gone you can you get everything digital or you get a little like package with piece of paper or you buy really expensive

spk_0 You know edition

spk_0 I think there's something about and they did a really good job with this even though it's all just like the tactile nature of like kind of figuring out this game through clues that are meta

spk_0 throughout side the game

spk_0 Um is so smart and I just like do you can't copy this you somebody else shouldn't do this

spk_0 The tunics should just exist, you know, and then the core game of tunic is fantastic

spk_0 I mean all this like the isometric parts of it are just really pretty the challenge is really good

spk_0 It kind of learned a little bit from the souls likes and there's space to not be an epic game to be a great game

spk_0 And this game it achieves epicness through this like kind of back path of retro and I just thought it was like worth mentioning a game like this because there's other

spk_0 Was it shovel nights and there's like

spk_0 Seamworld dig and like there's games that reference old games and if they're out there and they're they're they're also almost

spk_0 You know could meta-text of those games, but this is the one and I think it's it's beautiful

spk_0 Yeah, it's it took what I liked about fed like I love games that force you to

spk_0 To learn a like their language that it's speaking and and it's very much fed in that regard

spk_0 But what I appreciate about this over something like fes is the more you know action oriented Zelda gameplay that is all that's packaged around this

spk_0 Kind of fully fleshed out world and yeah, it just felt like I was

spk_0 transported back to being a kid and learning all the intricacies of a game and hearing playground secrets or stuff that you just felt like a genius for

spk_0 Figuring out or you know realizing that there's a mechanic in the game that was there the entire time that you didn't even know about

spk_0 In some respects it's it is like

spk_0 What did you dominate last time? What's the the RPG game that a

spk_0 pixel graphics undertail yeah, it has the level of

spk_0 Weirdness and complexity that undertail had because there's this like unnamed person that noted up the spaniel and like it's you know

spk_0 The ending actually to changes depending on you know how you into playing the game what you learn from the kind of like hints that you're getting

spk_0 It has a lot of undertail to it and so I think that's neat too

spk_0 Anyway, I just want to make space for these littler games. Yes, for sure. They can be wonderful

spk_0 Well

spk_0 Then along those same lines speaking of making space for these smaller games. I would I would nominate blotcher

spk_0 Now I was gonna say that. Yeah, yeah, I mean I was I was gonna have it be like an honorable mention

spk_0 I'll let you take the blurb. Yeah, I think it's I think it's perfect a perfectly made

spk_0 Game with no story no lore just a game and it's absolutely perfect

spk_0 I mean the clarity of vision of like

spk_0 You know, I don't know how this game was made

spk_0 But the fact that it kind of works in the insane sort of like you know

spk_0 Multipliers combined with the points that you earn and all the crazy jokers and then the order that you put them like

spk_0 like

spk_0 As I'm playing it. I'm like how does the game like this get designed and balanced? It's just unbelievable to me

spk_0 I mean it comes I feel like it's the type of game that can only come from one person like it has to have that clear a vision

spk_0 It's a it's a it's an author work, right? Yeah, if yeah, that's like that's actually a pretty good way to think about it

spk_0 It's like there's no way a company or a collective cadet or sort of a line on like yes. This is what this product should be

spk_0 So I've an international flight coming up. Maybe that's where I can delve in

spk_0 What's the platform we play it on? It's on everything. Yeah, you can play on your phone

spk_0 It is a good idea to maybe do it on a phone if it's on a plane then

spk_0 Text to be small on a phone. I had no problems playing it on a switch or a steam deck. Yeah, I played on steam deck all the time

spk_0 Yeah, I was thinking about bringing the deck in you asked me

spk_0 Cool. Do we like at a couple honorable mentions?

spk_0 One was a blotter a woman. I don't know how old it is demon, but like I don't know so if it's in this time frame

spk_0 But slay the spire is pretty similar. I was also gonna suggest slay the spire the perfect game

spk_0 Yeah, pretty much right like every single

spk_0 Game now that's released on steam is a rogue like deck builder thanks to slay the spire all of them. I mean, I don't make the rules

spk_0 I mean, I don't like I got I don't really want to do a full blur, but just like the prototypical, you know, rogue like deck builder that just

spk_0 It's one of those games. It did it perfect first time out and is not actually been surpassed yet

spk_0 Like you know, I really like monster train, but like slay the spire is still the best at all of them

spk_0 You know, there's dozens and dozens of them. I mean

spk_0 I feel that same way about vampire survivors and I've played a lot of those kind of survivor likes and a lot of them are very good

spk_0 But the original is still the best to ever do it

spk_0 So that's that's my other kind of like

spk_0 You know honorable mention although Justin I believe you're still yet to play monster train two

spk_0 That's true. Yep. Yeah, I know that slay the spire is the is the

spk_0 The community favorite the gamer's favorite, but I personally think monster train two surpass it. Oh

spk_0 There's still slay the spire two coming and I thought I was supposed to come out this year, but yeah delayed the next year

spk_0 I felt like a dummy because I played I mean, I don't know how many hours of slay the spire

spk_0 I played dozens and dozens and then I watched I saw YouTube thumbnail that was like slay the spire lore explained

spk_0 And it was like a door in my brain opened where did never even crossed my mind

spk_0 But I'm like oh, yeah, you are in a spire and you are fighting

spk_0 I'm like and then you talk to this weird whale at the start of every run

spk_0 And then it's like the YouTube video like you know lays out like there's all these like lore hints and secrets and like who you actually killing and why are you killing them?

spk_0 It's like it just never it didn't never cross my mind if I who are you and why are you in this spire and like

spk_0 And then it was it's in preparation of the sequel, which is supposedly like slightly more

spk_0 Story forward and so you know, I'm excited to dig into that the spire strikes back

spk_0 I play all these games on my steam deck and I have I have my games sorted by like recently played

spk_0 And so I can see I just bounce between monster train two

spk_0 Bilatro slay the spire ball pit

spk_0 It's just bouncing this row just going through all these roguelite games. They're the best games roguelite roguelite start the best genre

spk_0 11 out of 10 genre a sam wait, do we get spulunky on our list way back?

spk_0 I think I failed to mention it although I would absolutely

spk_0 One or two I can't remember which one you settle on now. I prefer the first one. I think okay

spk_0 I'd also throw binding a Isaac on there, but that's just me

spk_0 I mean, it's not just you it's very very popular game

spk_0 And

spk_0 And Sam I know recently by this is the real thing would you nominate goce of yote?

spk_0 I mean I

spk_0 I for both be more inclined to nominate assassin's creed because we haven't really talked about the modern assassin's creed

spk_0 sweets, although I think that the you know the

spk_0 There's the others right there's Odyssey and mirage and everything so

spk_0 That's really tough. I think I think shadows is the best and I really like assassin's creed games

spk_0 Yeah, it's tough. I think I don't know my favorite is that screen might be four still

spk_0 I just haven't played it so long, you know, those pirate battles were so fun

spk_0 persistent rumors about you know our remake of four that you know, I don't we'll see

spk_0 Seems like they're changing a lot of stuff based on a lot of the rumors for that AC4 remake

spk_0 But I'm an AC2 brotherhood girly myself. Yeah me too. I like brotherhood the American one

spk_0 No, the AC2 brother is the one in the

spk_0 Brotherhood's Rome right or is that um the other AC it's Rome is yeah, because you

spk_0 AC2 ends in Rome if I'm not mistaken where you kill the poet

spk_0 And they didn't make too in up you're getting to a fist fight with the boat correct

spk_0 They haven't remade any of those really old ones right?

spk_0 Yeah, they're good remakes as those ones are neat because it's like really it's almost like we should mention the hitman trilogy

spk_0 Hitman into being one single giant big game the world of assassination. Yeah, yeah, it's like kind of amazing

spk_0 You know, that's like a pretty landmark game

spk_0 Um, yeah, I think those assassin's creeds games are cool like that because it's just like the assassins all all it's bad

spk_0 There's like the checklist like beginning at perfect love that stuff. I really happened

spk_0 Didn't they announced some assassins creed infinity thing that was gonna be some portal where you could play and launch all the

spk_0 Assessis creed games or something like that. Yes, I think they announced that like six years ago

spk_0 That's the wrapper of shadows so when you open up shadows. Oh, oh

spk_0 That is like hitman. Yes. Yeah, they're trying to make it an all in one if you have like

spk_0 The most recent assassins creed game installed you should be able to play it from

spk_0 That little wrapper that they have if I'm not missing. Okay, so I think it did come out

spk_0 They just didn't make a big fanfare and they didn't call it infinity

spk_0 We'll see what it's like when assassins creed hex comes out. That's yeah, that's the oh my god

spk_0 Which one which I like the idea of I say them which

spk_0 Yeah, seems fun like that a lot. Yep. It sounds I mean if they really do dip into

spk_0 Fantasy that's where you're gonna get a change in F in the series to be interesting big monster battles and stuff like that

spk_0 I think they're combat system. Oh, and I know people hate hearing this

spk_0 I think the concept is just better than a soul's combat system. I think it's like more it's just

spk_0 It's just more accessible and I think that's a good thing

spk_0 Is this a C2 this is a trailer for AC2? No, it looks so good. What this is like 2007

spk_0 They're good looking trailers

spk_0 Yeah, maybe you should do

spk_0 AC trailers were always such big E3 events every year

spk_0 And like just the baller like they're always so timed well to like music

spk_0 It was just like the the cinematics team at Ubisoft just flexing. Yeah. Yeah. This is the brotherhood trailer

spk_0 I believe because he's just called in his his brotherhood to kill all those dudes

spk_0 Well, and then it was at the game that it really had oh no the Eagles were always in the towers

spk_0 They took that out in the Assassin's Creed Japan game. You couldn't use a yeah the Eagle vision markup all the enemies

spk_0 Okay, lots of good games to consider let's move on to some news a little week nintendo rays

spk_0 It's hardware forecast as switch to sales hit 10.36 million

spk_0 Crazy. It seems pretty good. Yeah doing pretty well for comparison

spk_0 What the render the in the same time period the original switch sold 4.7 million so

spk_0 Do you know more more than double the sales that the switch one

spk_0 Did and then the place is in five in its launch window did 7.8 million so outsold the ps5 and launch best selling

spk_0 Fastest selling console of all time. So I wish we knew the down

spk_0 economy. I know I know I know first of all it's expensive our kids buying it

spk_0 We haven't even had the holiday season yet. Yeah, I just it all those things add up to I'm just super curious

spk_0 Yeah, we have I had new Mario yet

spk_0 They haven't increased the price of the console and so I think I mean I remember talking about this months ago like

spk_0 If you're if you're considering ever buying an Nintendo switch to like buy it now because a

spk_0 It's not gonna get any cheaper for years and years and years if it ever gets any cheaper and be just from a dollar cost

spk_0 Averaging standpoint like you'll just get more days with your switch to with this you could pay

spk_0 $500 today or pay $500 or maybe more in two years. So you might as well just buy it if you have the money to buy it

spk_0 So I think I think some people maybe not in those exact terms

spk_0 But this element of like if I have the disposable income if I'm in the consideration set to buy this thing

spk_0 I might as well just pull the trigger on it. Mm-hmm

spk_0 Yeah, I know that there was a lot you know pre switch to launch. There's a lot of you know people who were saying

spk_0 Oh, it's just the Wii Wii U situation all over again and blah blah blah

spk_0 Yeah, you know calling it a switch to is a mistake or whatever and you know

spk_0 Granted I didn't think it'd be as successful as this ended up being but

spk_0 That's off to a man. They nailed it. I mean, it's it's

spk_0 Almost twice as expensive as a switch one

spk_0 Yeah, and y'all bought it now everything's gonna be expensive forever. Yeah

spk_0 It's our fault

spk_0 Nintendo had previously forecast 15 million sold by the end of March 2026 now they've raised that to 19 million

spk_0 I think you're just saying extra for me. That's a huge

spk_0 I mean, that's that they're publicly traded company right and so to raise to raise their sales target like that is a big

spk_0 Like they're really feeling themselves

spk_0 Basically like they they know that they're they're on a heater right now

spk_0 Mario Kart world has sold almost 10 million copies

spk_0 So almost everyone who's

spk_0 Just about everyone wow like old. Yeah, you kind of you had to kind of get it. Yeah, assistant right

spk_0 But only 8 million of those were from the bundle so over a million people bought a switch to

spk_0 And then paid $80 for as I think a bunch of people just went ahead and pre-ordered it right because the nobody yeah

spk_0 Maybe I do also think for a while

spk_0 A people did seem to struggle to get the version of the the the console with this the the game package didn't if I'm not mistaken

spk_0 Yeah, you know, I mean unfortunately like they really didn't let critics at this and so a lot of people pre-ordered Mario Kart without knowing that

spk_0 It wasn't the best Mario Kart ever made just being like there's a new switch system

spk_0 If I'm gonna get the switch I'm gonna get Mario Kart because there are always the greatest games ever and

spk_0 Unfortunately, this wasn't that right yeah, yeah, I don't know what normies think of Mario Kart world

spk_0 Yeah, I'd be kind of curious to get a little bit more mainstream perspective. I'm like they probably just don't care right like yeah

spk_0 Plenty of time

spk_0 Bad by any means

spk_0 So good feels really really good. It's the go-to like hey do you guys want to play a video game together?

spk_0 All right, let's play some Mario Kart. Sure like it and not everyone's gonna be you know us

spk_0 What the real stat was the surprising is that they sold 10 million cameras and everybody's using them on our throat

spk_0 They did not I don't think they shared any

spk_0 Cameras how many I want to know how many people paid for the breath of the wild and tears of the kingdom upgrade packs

spk_0 Yeah, I don't know well the

spk_0 Yeah, oh yeah, I just curious

spk_0 Right because I know I did I

spk_0 Wish they'd re-release that is like the big giant box collectors edition with both and one

spk_0 I'm such a sucker for is all the stuff like that that'd be sick

spk_0 Did I read that the animal crossing upgrade five bucks is that right? Yeah, yeah, so I feel like Nintendo

spk_0 I like their strategy as it's throwing a dartboard at how much to charge for this stuff

spk_0 It's like anywhere from five to twenty dollars. It's just completely arbitrary. Yeah, yeah

spk_0 Well the second best selling switch to game is Donkey Kong, Benanza

spk_0 3.5 million sold so one one out of every three switch to owners bought Donkey Kong, Benanza

spk_0 And am oh

spk_0 Banana indeed. I mean we just thought you know

spk_0 We I love this game still one of my favorites of the year, but we always talked about how it's you know

spk_0 It's not gonna do anywhere near as well as Mario 3d Mario would him, but it's doing pretty well in his team

spk_0 Yeah, it's well. It's just gonna keep selling from here, so

spk_0 Yep, this might be

spk_0 Proving that like I and remember Nintendo kept on making Donkey Kong games

spk_0 We don't always get a bunch of sales stats, but like yeah, you know

spk_0 There's a couple of being remakes of those Donkey Kong games. I think there's something to it. I think they sell well in America

spk_0 So 10.36 million switch to sold it has now it's outsold the dreamcast

spk_0 IP and any day now that's so sad any day now it will outsell the Wii U

spk_0 Yep, probably next quarter cool lifetime sales for sure

spk_0 It's only a few like tens of thousands of units away. I think from damn

spk_0 Outsell in the Wii U give me Nintendo land Nintendo. Please

spk_0 Nintendo land switch to edition. Yes. Good game

spk_0 Sam have they done it again has digital eclipse done it again with the moral combat legacy collection

spk_0 You know they have

spk_0 I will qualify one time I played a single game. Oh, that's I that's the other thing. I have an either

spk_0 I've spent the last two or three evenings just watching the documentary

spk_0 This is awesome. This is so great, but I did read today that there's I think there's some like online like matchmaking issue issues

spk_0 gamers having some fresh ice with that but

spk_0 Just watch the back of the day

spk_0 I mean, I mean, we all have our moral combat stories as in a Peter Piper pizza above a little

spk_0 Skating area where all these big kids were skating and smoking cigarettes and went up there

spk_0 And then there was this ultraviolet video game like yeah, I'm too young for all this stuff

spk_0 Who's overwhelming and Phoenix Arizona? So that was really really yeah, I love moral combat

spk_0 I love just looking back at that just the aesthetics of it and just you know

spk_0 Every single thing to drag in the cabinets the then of course the emotion captured like digitization of stuff like it still looks

spk_0 Awesome to me. Yeah, it's so interesting and crazy and bright and flashy. I just love it so much and the transition from

spk_0 Brocon combat one to two was also really interesting. Anyway, documentaries are amazing and I wanted to call out that the

spk_0 The last documentary we are talking about like told one of the best stories of the year

spk_0 Which was Jordan McNeer and his dad

spk_0 And just like the style he's great characters

spk_0 And there's a bunch of great characters in this documentary

spk_0 But the one I want to call out is might be a little bit surprising

spk_0 It's that later so there's like five there's something timelines in this not just one timeline

spk_0 So after they go through the moral combat one and two and then talk about you a little bit of the controversy

spk_0 If they don't really go into that that much or it's not a ton of joe Lieberman talking about video game violence

spk_0 I thought it'd be focused on that no it's about developing the game and and how it came to be in this kind of Atari

spk_0 Sorry midway

spk_0 A good ball factory, which was of course. I think that's really interesting

spk_0 Anyway, the story and the hero of the story ends up being the woman that plays Sonya

spk_0 And she's in it so much and she was like working for like I think up the playboy club in Chicago and and acting stuff

spk_0 And they got her to come over and do most capture for two and then she became like this

spk_0 They did like a touring mortal combat martial art show and she didn't have any training

spk_0 But she learned it for that and then she has like all these great stories everybody there like loves her

spk_0 She became like part of the development community and she just like she's just so

spk_0 Funny and interesting and she's just there with all these these people that made that game at her stories are great

spk_0 This is worth watching for like stuff like that in it you would not expect. Can you imagine what a touring like it's like moral combat on ice

spk_0 It's a lot to you that sounds sick

spk_0 Yeah, I do yeah

spk_0 That's Steve Richie by the way that guy with with the super saan I got a question about this like roughly how much

spk_0 Documentary would you say that is available in this hour hours hours really? Okay

spk_0 I'm gonna check this out today. This is great. It's so great. So this is digital eclipse

spk_0 They did it they kind of kicked things off with Atari 50 a few years ago

spk_0 Karateka one saying the praises of they did the making of Karateka, which is also good

spk_0 Then last year was Tetris forever. I want to say all this stuff is great. They're just they're interactive

spk_0 museums built around a game or a series that you watch and they've created they've done all these interviews

spk_0 And then you have they have this archival footage in moral combat case

spk_0 You're watching them film the people you know doing all the poses and the moves that they ended up digitizing

spk_0 Into the game also midway the company was a Chicago company. So for me. I love Chicago. I lived there for five years

spk_0 College so it's just cool to see you know that time early 90s Chicago people making a video game

spk_0 They talk about how in midway at that time they were just they were trying to make as gory and bloody games as they could

spk_0 And then they go show the executives at the company and the executives like yeah, that's good. Yeah

spk_0 There was never internal pushback. They never stood ever they wanted even by three or whatever

spk_0 Nobody ever said you guys are doing something wrong here

spk_0 They figured out solutions

spk_0 They figured out the weird and super Nintendo solution for one thing and then Nintendo changed that and said okay

spk_0 We sold so far fewer units

spk_0 That we're gonna just let you do this you just have to put this is recommended for 17 and above on your cover like they just

spk_0 They just did whatever they wanted and they also addressed like and this is like you know

spk_0 They'd mentioned this as being controversial that more than the violence stuff

spk_0 They're like we just worked every waking hour and lived at the pinball factory to make these games and they're like

spk_0 We still run a company and like we know how bad that sounds and we know

spk_0 But this is all we want to do this was our life's project. This was our passion project

spk_0 We loved it. We all liked each other so much and we were all such good pals that like it didn't even occur to us

spk_0 That this was the wrong thing to be do like that type of stuff you get a window into

spk_0 How you know when people just obsess over this creative endeavor?

spk_0 And they had to solve so many problems like they were like you know

spk_0 digitization did not exist. It just didn't exist

spk_0 They just learned it on the job and invented it and even by like the second game

spk_0 They're like yeah, this guy brought in this thing called Photoshop

spk_0 Where it's like oh this this is gonna help a lot

spk_0 I love that the digitized actors like they went from looking incredible and amazing in the 90s

spk_0 This is horseshoe and then they look terrible for 20 years

spk_0 And now they look incredible again now like this art style is so well and they're like okay, this is rad

spk_0 Well, and then I guess they had to learn on the job too like balancing a fighting game like pedal combat one

spk_0 Like you don't think about it, but like they they would inch issue rom up upgrades

spk_0 And that's how you got like secrets and stuff then and you know

spk_0 They iterate and by three they really thought about balance and then they put it a game up of the trilogy with like

spk_0 You know the super smash brothers roster basically of characters. Yep, and that was all about

spk_0 That stuff is really interesting for people that were just like kind of an artist and a programmer and like you know

spk_0 We're looking at Street Fighter

spk_0 I've one other thing I want to mention is that everything in this game is discussed as

spk_0 Secret so the whole point of moral combat

spk_0 Was and they knew this from Street Fighter that they didn't they called high kick high punch low kick look

spk_0 Punch the moves right and everything else throwing

spk_0 You know doing a get over here are throwing a ice fireball or whatever those are all secret moves and then including the fatalities

spk_0 They didn't publicize any of it

spk_0 Everybody had to figure it out and when people that's what the fun was is that people go to the arcade

spk_0 Not I remember that as a little kid for fatalities, but it was for everything

spk_0 It was like again this is one of those moments we've talked about this on the show before that like if you're a younger gamer now

spk_0 You will absolutely never understand how insane it was to be in an arcade and see finish him come off come up and see someone pull off a fatality

spk_0 Yeah, like it was like I remember the adrenaline questions from it like adrenaline

spk_0 Yeah, and like it would be one of two things one it was either you know some pro that new like you know new the move or

spk_0 Like you'd play the game just 100 times and you'd mash random buttons and then you pull off a fatality once

spk_0 Yep, it was the best

spk_0 Yeah, and just like they would that's why there's things like toasty and urmac and everything like they would play those up

spk_0 And like sometimes they would seed stuff that wasn't true. Yep, and it was just so smart like everything was it was viral

spk_0 It was viral moments, you know for me like for me mortal combat is secrets like that's what it is for me in the 90s

spk_0 It's just like it just felt and like you'd hit like the playground rumors of like you know like

spk_0 Like I fought a guy in his name was reptile and it's like shut up. No, you didn't but it's like it turns out like yeah, he's true

spk_0 Did you know you could do arms and chips instead of a fatality you could like win them over with love. I was like that's a lie

spk_0 No, so Sam I think the guy that created this digitization tech. I think was the programmer of cubart

spk_0 Is that a wow which is like Warren Davis you and I interviewed him a few years ago and we were just talking about cubart

spk_0 Making that from mortal combat. Yeah, he's in the documentaries like people talk to him for like they've known people for five years

spk_0 And then all of a sudden they're like you made cubart. Yeah

spk_0 So the first game they used it in was was this football game that I'm not familiar with but then the second one was NARC

spk_0 Which I I didn't put together but now is like okay because they went from NARC to mortal combat and I was like okay

spk_0 That makes sense now, but I never put that together before

spk_0 It's great also Ed Boone. It's like what a unique guy to he's just made his whole whole career

spk_0 Basically making one game series there's injustice also, but basically he just made mortal combat its entire career

spk_0 It was it was down and out for a long time and then and then came about of that. It's a bigger than ever. It's unbelievable crazy

spk_0 This is Bill Nihila and

spk_0 Bill does not have a question. He just wrote us a very nice note here so Bill says I would first like to say that I love the show and the whole team at IGM

spk_0 I was a military brat in the Air Force and first experienced video games like pong in the late 70s

spk_0 We were stationed in Okinawa. I was very young but instantly grabbed me and I have not and I have not let go

spk_0 As a teenager we were stationed in Omaha, Nebraska. So different from Okinawa. This was in the early 80s in the boom of arcades

spk_0 My parents would drop me off at the mall with 20 bucks and I could buy enough tokens and food to spend half the day there

spk_0 Granted half the time was watching others play games and learning and looking in awe

spk_0 The roller skating rink was another avenue for games like asteroids

spk_0 Defender missile command and Atari football with a trackball extra challenging when in roller skates

spk_0 Fast forward. I'm obviously still playing video games still on nostalgia for them in the history of them

spk_0 Your show has been incredible for the past present and future of video games

spk_0 And I want to thank you for providing that to me and others

spk_0 I'm now a grandfather and love to hear you and Justin talk about playing games with your kids

spk_0 I've been playing video games with my grandson for about two years now

spk_0 Started on tablet and now playing on the ps5 with games like Astros playroom bluey and hot wheels unleashed

spk_0 I am a store manager for the best and largest grocery chain in the southeast. I should don't know what that what that would be

spk_0 I will often I will often onboard many of the associates that are hired and do icebreakers with them

spk_0 One of my favorites is to ask them what their most used iPhone app

spk_0 What their most used phone app is or what video game they're currently playing

spk_0 I also tell them what I'm playing as well

spk_0 This will not only open up their eyes

spk_0 But also open up a connection that helps me lead them in their growth as an associate

spk_0 I am literally relating to associates that are 40-ish years younger than me

spk_0 I was transferred over a decade ago to a new store and had a long drive

spk_0 This is when I found my love for podcasts two of my early favorites were gamescoup and stuff

spk_0 You should know which Sam has referenced. Oh, I love stuff. You should know

spk_0 I just want to say thank you to all the other hosts and the miles of entertainment you have provided over the years

spk_0 Seriously, thank you

spk_0 It's very nice very sweet. Thank you very much. That is very nice. Thank you

spk_0 He says ps. I have a 20 questions game, but we'll need to research it to make sure it hasn't been used before

spk_0 Report back. Yeah, it's good very very nice and we you know

spk_0 We know show without people like listening to show and watching the show like you build so

spk_0 We we love making the show. Thank you for hanging out with us once a week to talk about video games

spk_0 But we also do extracurricular activities and I watched the first three episodes of the chair company

spk_0 Oh nice. Yeah

spk_0 And it's good the mystery the mystery develops. Yep

spk_0 Anyway, have you watched it? Yes. Okay. I'm caught up

spk_0 It's so I haven't watched the friendship yet. So this is my first experience of him outside of I think you should leave

spk_0 I think this is better than friendship. Okay. This is an I think you should leave podcast everyone's very familiar with that

spk_0 The type of like crazy unhinged character he plays there

spk_0 It's it's in sketch. So you know, you're only hanging out with one

spk_0 Scene or a character for a few minutes and then you're on to the next thing

spk_0 So it's it's wild take that insane character and make him the lead of an ongoing series a 30 minute show where you know

spk_0 But it works. I think yeah, they works. I'm enjoying it and it's funny and I'm I'm interested in the mystery

spk_0 Actually got frustrated because I didn't realize they it wasn't all out yet

spk_0 So I finished the third episode. I couldn't watch anymore. I was like what so maybe I'll wait till it's all

spk_0 Done and finish all thing but I like it. It's fun. It's funny and it's good and I'm interested in the mystery

spk_0 Oh also on I think you should leave he has an act for finding just strange looking older

spk_0 People older actors and the chair company is also filled with that type of person

spk_0 Do you think he's involved in that level of stuff with the show because it feels very him right? Yeah, it's a good question

spk_0 I think when you have comedians like Tim Robinson. I think it's

spk_0 He's very good at people like him are very good at recognizing

spk_0 What the funniest possible outcome or who the funniest possible thing or person is to say something and he has no sh- or he has no like

spk_0 Pride and being you should have this line because it'll be way fun. You're coming from your lips and mine and

spk_0 Those people I always respect because you are the comedian mastermind, but you know

spk_0 How to arm the people to elevate something to make it even funnier. Yeah, is that Lou Diamond Philips for the way the head of the company?

spk_0 Oh, I believe so I thought it was I don't know

spk_0 He's great by the way that has a copy. It's really a cool character

spk_0 I think it has like severance level elements to it

spk_0 It has like what you know what what's the the mysteries like that which is good and then yeah the absolute like

spk_0 Putting up with you know, he's he's a crazy character a lot of the times, but there's other people

spk_0 They're not all straight straight characters, right? There's the there's the guy that beats him up and stuff and that

spk_0 There's you know the world that accepts this level of like manic craziness. Yeah, that I think you should leave as as well. It's great

spk_0 Whenever I break out, you know comedian

spk_0 Sort of immersion on the scene the temptation for everyone who wants to work with them

spk_0 Must be that I have him come on to be the comic relief. It's a lot more guts

spk_0 Yeah, I think to like make him the the star and then also like he is still like hilarious and weird and and insane

spk_0 But also he shows a little bit more range than he gives it's an opportunity to show a little bit more range than he does on

spk_0 I think you should leave right so good it seems to be working

spk_0 Cheri company's good it's on HBO and then also over the weekend

spk_0 We took the kids to see kpop demon hunters in the theater. Oh, and that was super fun and awesome

spk_0 Wow nice a single long experience. It's a single long version

spk_0 So they put the words up on the screen for all the the the songs and then everyone you can just be as loud and do whatever in the theater

spk_0 So how did they get kids to not trash it like the mark the the Minecraft movie? Well, they these we these are younger kids

spk_0 Than the Minecraft kids, I think although it was really funny recently. I heard we were playing Uno and Kingo said crap

spk_0 And you know what we're not like man. We're like oh what what that's interesting

spk_0 Where did you hear that word and after after some prying he so he heard in the Minecraft movie?

spk_0 It's better that than him saying chicken jockey all the time

spk_0 Well, there's the there's the my kids sing the lava chicken song which one of the lines is it's harder than hell

spk_0 Yeah in that song and like I gave my daughter some side I'm like oh

spk_0 Yeah, unfortunately my kids like the lava chicken song too. We just

spk_0 Don't don't draw attention to it. They don't know what they're saying

spk_0 Um, but K-pop demon hunters our theater was only about half full and no one was in the front rows

spk_0 So by halfway through the movie

spk_0 I think most of the kids in the theater were just right up there right in front of the screen

spk_0 Singing dancing and acting out the movies. It was it was really fun. It was great. That's cute

spk_0 So I went to the movie theater last week. I saw Frankenstein. Oh, yeah, and it's coming to home

spk_0 But I'm really happy I saw in the theater because it's gorgeous

spk_0 It's so fun

spk_0 And it was the best going to like a Halloween spooky movie before Halloween. It was like on Wednesday and

spk_0 A weird a weird theater down by city hall in cifrusisco. It was awesome

spk_0 And that movie is like it's good. It's a really good Frankenstein movie, but what you know

spk_0 It's just it was a total pleasure. Did I talk about it last week? No, I thought I talked about the Peter Jackson

spk_0 I don't know Peter Jackson. I thought I found out that the interview on on uh fresh air you did talking about that

spk_0 But then I was like you I think you were going to talk about a hero movie. Okay

spk_0 Yeah, which is really worth checking out as well. Yeah, this movie is super like like like it's a good Halloween movie

spk_0 It is like I was our review talks about how gory it is and like it really is

spk_0 Like nothing compared to the boys

spk_0 Which is like funny how crazy things have gotten

spk_0 You watch jen v and you're like that's the most gory thing that exists right now. This is nothing on that

spk_0 But yeah, a lot of killing cool. I'm excited. Yeah, I want to good monster good monster

spk_0 I'm looking forward to seeing Frankenstein

spk_0 And that brings us to video game 20 questions and our suggestion this week comes from Matt

spk_0 Who has a little anecdote to share Matt says thanks so much for producing my favorite podcast

spk_0 I've been listening for about five years having missed an episode

spk_0 I just wanted to add another suggestion for the 10 gaming commandments the 10 commandments of gaming

spk_0 thou shalt earn a cutscene

spk_0 I do believe that a good I believe a good story can add so much to a game probably my most meaningful gaming moments have been due to effective narrative

spk_0 But I hate it when a game starts with a long cutscene or dialogue involving characters

spk_0 I am not yet invested in there should be a minimum of 30 minute time limit before

spk_0 story pause here in the lesson and that's nice when the title screen comes up then to yeah

spk_0 Yeah, that's the game really start every JRPG ever starts with the seven minute cutscene where you have no it's

spk_0 Incredibly significant to the plot, but you have no idea what any of it means

spk_0 I mean, they're all emulating a lot of the rings right like that's where that came from is always a girl

spk_0 There's always some woman holding an orb of some kind

spk_0 You never know what that orb is about

spk_0 Matt says

spk_0 While I'm here, I have a suggestion for 20 questions. I grew up in the UK. So I have a slightly different gaming heritage to you guys

spk_0 I had never had an NES never owned an Xbox although I've had a tariff

spk_0 Yeah, every time I say that about people in Europe you're like no, you're putting an yes

spk_0 It's like the sales figures are like one percent

spk_0 But yeah, sorry he had a ZX 80 and a ZX 81

spk_0 Spectrum VIC 20 Atari ST and then Game Boy Mega Drive Super Nintendo

spk_0 Nintendo 64 Dreamcast PSP all the PlayStation and both switches

spk_0 So it says anyway, not sure if the above is much of a clue, but I thought redacted might be a fun suggestion for 20 questions

spk_0 As the redacted is still quite unique and a bit topical

spk_0 I'm gonna go for the jugular is it saber wolf

spk_0 Let the question begin 50 50 at saber wolf

spk_0 All right, did this game come out in the 70s 80s or 90s yes

spk_0 saber wolf dream is alive

spk_0 Is this an isometric game?

spk_0 Okay, I'm not saber wolf

spk_0 Is this game based on a license? No

spk_0 I don't know many ZX Spectrum games and all that stuff

spk_0 Yeah, I'll for chicken is that that feels very British, right

spk_0 That came to NES

spk_0 Astros can all the list

spk_0 And even though did this game appear on the NES? Yes

spk_0 Cool

spk_0 Was this game also released in our Cades? Yes, that's five

spk_0 Was it developed in Japan? Yes, is this game a platformer? No

spk_0 Yes

spk_0 Game developed in Japan

spk_0 Was the was developed before 1983? No

spk_0 Hmm is two player remain component of this game? No

spk_0 Interested be could be punch out

spk_0 Yeah, interesting

spk_0 Yeah, Nintendo say our capcom Konami

spk_0 So it's the kind of

spk_0 This is where played with here Namco Namco

spk_0 But okay, they kind of gave a clue though about a different taste

spk_0 Yeah, wow

spk_0 Arcade is the

spk_0 I mean it could be sports game or something starting their kid too

spk_0 Is this a sports or fighting game? No

spk_0 That's ten

spk_0 It's not punch out punch out counts as fighting boxing fighting correct

spk_0 Oh, I mean that's all the games right that's all the game types

spk_0 Race it could be when would do you think racing racing doesn't count as sports

spk_0 Is this developer saw her out?

spk_0 Um, I have to look that up I probably get it feel really silly when it sounds sounds like it's not Nintendo

spk_0 Yep, probably not an Nintendo game y'all

spk_0 Or Capcom or

spk_0 Namco again, yeah, I don't I don't we don't like to met a game

spk_0 Well

spk_0 The this company is not currently

spk_0 In operation

spk_0 I wonder if it's Hudson like adventure Islanders

spk_0 Oh, but then it would add a different name in in Europe right or like

spk_0 The adventure island had a different name I think

spk_0 Yeah

spk_0 Monster wonder boy monster monster boy or whatever it is um

spk_0 Or maybe that's a sub series. I can't quite remember now

spk_0 This is good that got a little bit confusing there, but it's not a platformer

spk_0 Not a not a platformer. Do you use a joy stick to control your character in the arcade version of this? No

spk_0 What does that mean track ball? It's

spk_0 Need you things. I mean just steering wheels right steering wheel good call

spk_0 That's much more likely than track ball and plus it's not isometric so it can't be like outrun or

spk_0 I

spk_0 Mean afterburner. What are we? What many questions do yet? You've asked 12

spk_0 Do you drive a car in this game? No

spk_0 Could still be afterburner. Did that come to the NES?

spk_0 Mm-hmm Genesis though. Yeah, that's what I thought

spk_0 You don't drive a car. I should ask if you say he's actually really unlikely to come to the NES

spk_0 Just be like so we should like out of that

spk_0 The super hang on get like in an NES port or something or hang on

spk_0 Like a motorcycle style peripheral, you know

spk_0 Yeah, it's like is excite bike in the arcade. Yeah, but only as a play choice game

spk_0 Which has a good joystick

spk_0 Not controlled by

spk_0 Joystick not a racing game not a car racing not a car racing game

spk_0 Do we like a vehicle maybe could be could be duck hunt

spk_0 Mm-hmm shooties

spk_0 Do you do you shoot a gun in this game? No

spk_0 Do you pilot vehicle?

spk_0 Technically, yes, that's 15. Oh, man if it wasn't developed in Japan, I'd say tuban

spk_0 Yeah, it's a tube vehicle. No, it's not

spk_0 It's a little abstract but technically yes

spk_0 Abstract

spk_0 Sam we need you idiot. I've been I've been goofing off after stuff because I assumed

spk_0 We can't be in this one if we goof off

spk_0 Yeah, I figured you could just go in. Okay, so we I would really I'd really like to know the developments

spk_0 It's can't really can't be say got because say got didn't really publish stuff in Tendo because they're a direct competitor

spk_0 um

spk_0 Namco would have been older stuff

spk_0 The most part and remember that I said this Delver is not operating today

spk_0 Yeah, so you got like iran and like stuff like that. It's a complicated, you know, what about like map mapy

spk_0 Yeah, that's before 1983 great game though

spk_0 Um or at 1983

spk_0 Um

spk_0 Okay, so the vehicle abstract thing I think we need to kind of think about that a little bit

spk_0 How do you control this game trackball? Mm-hmm. It has joystick. Oh, let's think about that

spk_0 So trackball is good because there's like crystal castles and stuff like that

spk_0 But I just can't think about Japanese games control by trackball um

spk_0 What about centipede what about it?

spk_0 And such a soul though. Yeah, that you're right that is too old. What if it's something like super goofy

spk_0 Like you know um black emol or something like that

spk_0 Yeah, I don't know. I don't know where to go with this uh does this game feature a track ball do you control with a track ball? No

spk_0 Oh

spk_0 Do you just it's just oh it's just buttons it's just buttons then

spk_0 Maybe it is baby Pac-Man

spk_0 They have just buttons. Yeah, because it's just the flicker buttons from a pinball machine

spk_0 Now I guess there's the little joy. I don't know. I can't remember it's just a joy stick is there

spk_0 Or it's like a rotary encoder type situation, right like one of those little dials. Yeah, that was exist

spk_0 For sure. I bet it's just buttons though

spk_0 That's kind of the line by I was getting just buttons

spk_0 Mm-hmm

spk_0 That's a tough path first to be going down the not a platformer nightified not a fighting game. You don't shoot a gun

spk_0 Track and field maybe not a sports game. Oh, yeah, we got that knocked out

spk_0 Not a racing game. We were in trouble. What it how many questions do you have three questions in a guess?

spk_0 How was how was rampart controlled?

spk_0 Yeah, that was designed in the United States

spk_0 Great great one though. Yeah, you that's a track ball one of the last track ball gives it because they go far more badness also

spk_0 Yeah, oh, so I'll just midway Atari type stuff though. The Japanese part of this makes this complicated

spk_0 I wonder if there's any characters in the game that are still relevant to this day

spk_0 That's cute

spk_0 Or isn't Siri still going yeah like there might be the developer might be out of business

spk_0 But maybe the character's still relevant. Let's see is the care

spk_0 Does the game feature any characters are still relevant to this day? No, oh

spk_0 Obviously not

spk_0 Sam almost certainly has this game in his house

spk_0 Yeah, so I mean it's especially because it's in the NES library exactly

spk_0 But it's just it's hard without the developer

spk_0 You just got such a little info and can you imagine a game that was like didn't have a joystick that got forward to NES

spk_0 You know that's that's already really weird right yep. Yeah, isn't that weird? It is weird

spk_0 What might they have done in such a situation?

spk_0 Oh, maybe it's a different light gun game. No, we talked about shooting guns though. Yep

spk_0 Oh, it's arcanoid

spk_0 Because it has a paddle in the arcade. Yeah, I did home did this game come with a special controller on the NES yes

spk_0 Okay, is this arcanoid yes, it is arcanoid

spk_0 Well done. Yeah, no, it's a title title game and it's ball ball pit related. That's exactly why that's exactly what matt said

spk_0 Uh, it's topical because of ball pit. Yeah, I'm arcanoid rocks. Yeah, it didn't have a it didn't use the deep head

spk_0 It came with a mouse controller. Well, it's a spinner. It's a spinner

spk_0 Yeah, I don't think I I don't think I ever knew that I mean I played arcanoid but I used just the NES

spk_0 Yeah, same. Yeah, the spinner the encoder it isn't encoder just like you were saying it's pretty cute on the NES because it's like a it's like a gray

spk_0 NES shape controller with just the one knob right in the middle that it's small

spk_0 Cool and Justin you are actually a spaceship

spk_0 That's yeah, I did know I actually did know that bit of lore

spk_0 It's definitely in the member the great Atari art for breakout. Yeah, where it's like a command operations center and a guy

spk_0 Ship and like explosions all over. Yep

spk_0 So funny. Oh, we almost didn't get there. Yeah

spk_0 Yep arcanoid great game they made a sequel the return of dough because dough is the bad guy the villain

spk_0 Which is like one of those like Maori heads I believe

spk_0 But it's really popular villains in Japanese videos of Maori heads the Konami moayas like the moayas moayas

spk_0 That's what he's yeah

spk_0 Uh nicely job. Thank you for the suggestion Matt

spk_0 Viewers listeners if you have your own suggestions. We need the anecdote

spk_0 Well, I just told you it was to be oh, that's it. That's actually might be fun because it's topical because of bulb it okay. Okay. Thank you

spk_0 Viewers listeners if you have your own suggestions for a video game 20 questions email them to me at the email address

spk_0 Game scoop at ishane.com

spk_0 And if you are looking for something new to play and also have a way to give back you can head over to humble and grab eight amazing games for just 1499

spk_0 Including Total War Warhammer 3 another crab's treasure no more heroes 3 etrin Odyssey HD

spk_0 Pharaoh a new age synergy spin hero and paleo pines every purchase supports no kid hungry a non-profit that provides meals to students

spk_0 And need across the US across the US build your library make an impact and help and help end childhood hunger

spk_0 Head on over to humble bundle.com and start playing today

spk_0 And that's all the scoops that we have for you this week. Thank you Nick

spk_0 Thank you Sam. Thank you Justin

spk_0 Thank you to jobar and everyone working behind the scenes to make this episode possible

spk_0 My name is Damon. This is ijane game soup and route

spk_0 This episode of game soup was produced by myself Damon Hatfield and jobar adianza

spk_0 Technical direction is handled by jobar adianza

spk_0 Technical production is by mariah and franzen and amirra keep audio engineering is by amirra keep and post production editing is by yours truly

spk_0 Damon Hatfield graphic design is by nekoel kaginthan game scoop is an ijane production and part of the geek media network

Game Scoop! 832: Our Favorite PS5 & Xbox Games

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