Author: Scott

We’re honing our sneak skills at the following link.

This is how the console generations end. With an upgrade. I’m completely fine with this. Microsoft recently laid out some intentions on where they see the next Xbox going and, if it all works, it’s not a bad direction to be headed in. We talk about it in the episode but going the direction of the way PC’s work seems really simple and straightforward. When I upgrade parts of my PC, all the games I already own still work on it and home console gaming will hopefully follow suit. The Neo reveal from Sony in September probably won’t be that step for them, but Microsoft seems to be intent on making that happen starting now with Xbox One and even more so with Scorpio’s release next year. However, it’s probably a given that whichever way works is the way the competition will follow.

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We’re pretty sure there’s multiplayer in this episode at the following link.

No Man’s Sky is now out among the public and most people seem pretty satisfied with it. Unless you’re playing it on PC. Looks to be a bit of trouble there. I’m not playing the game but that has more to do with what the game is than all the other things surrounding it. I don’t do those kinds of survival games. What I want from No Man’s Sky is probably in the game, but there seems to be quite a bit of work and what looks to me like frustration to get there. Eventually down the line during a steam sale or even something good out of Black Friday, I may end up playing the game. But nothing I’ve read, or seen, or heard of has me changing my feeling of this game from the last post I made about it on last week’s episode.

Bring on the Deus Ex.

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We’re uploading a day-one patch on this episode at the following link.

I don’t have the least bit of excitement for No Man’s Sky. However, I am totally interested in how it will play out this week in reviews and public opinion. It was on my radar at some point, I can’t remember when, but I lost interest the longer they took to make it. And the excessive amounts of times they would show footage without answering a single question. But whatever…it’s here now, right? So where’d my hype go? I don’t know, but I’ve lost interest. I’m curious how it plays and looks on PC, but that’s about it as far as my own involvement.

Then there’s what everyone else thinks about it. Keep in mind, however, I’m not watching this like some twisted NASCAR fan who only goes to see the crashes. I said it on the show and I’ll say it here – every time I have a bad feeling about a game prior to its release, I want to be proven wrong. Always. Every time. Let me eat my words so I can have something to enjoy that surprises me. It happened twice with Wolf and Doom. Here’s hoping it happens again with No Man’s Sky.

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We’re selling this episode ten days early on eBay at the following link.

Lead. Follow. Or get out of the way. If speculation is correct, Nintendo seems to have chosen the act of getting out of the way. Although, one could argue that Nintendo was never in the way to begin with. They are sidestepping and doing what it is they do VERY well, and that’s handhelds. Outside of phones, Nintendo has the handheld gaming market locked down and can only strengthen this grip with the NX console – again, if speculation is correct.

Also, to the guy who spent $1,300 to get No Man’s Sky ten days early – bravo! First, for the courage you had to spend that kind of cash on an eBay item. And second, you can do whatever you want with your money, so go right ahead and do it. The things I’ve spent my money on before give me no room to judge you and what you do with your money.

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We’ve gotta catch’em all at the following link.

I’m really trying to suppress my “grumpy old man yells at sky” mentality here, but it’s not working. Pokemon GO is a thing. A thing that I play very casually. It’s also a thing I’m already tired of hearing about. Since before Comic Con (and I’m sure news sites will get back on track), everything in my news feeds were almost ALL related to Pokemon GO. For a good few days there it was nothing but guides on everything the game offered. Then it was injuries, threats, embarrassments, and more ways for the general public who don’t play to point at it as a deterioration of our society and a corruption of our youths.

I don’t hate the game. At all, in fact. This is to be expected when something like this happens. And what this is is a phenomenon. In fact, I can’t look back and reference anything that could mirror what Pokemon Go has done and in the short amount of time it happened. I’m curious as to how long this will last. You know what they say about lights that burn twice as bright…

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We’ve got 30 of our best episodes for sixty bucks at the following link.

Nintendo’s new NES-mini. Is that what they’re calling it? I don’t know. I’m not sure I want it out of just nostalgia’s sake to have a tiny NES sitting on a shelf somewhere (kinda like my big NES sits on a shelf somewhere), but I’m pretty sure there will be a lot of people who do. Nintendo needs some quick cash? Make a small little system that plays older games on it for a low price. A year from now if the NX doesn’t reach expectations…move on to the SNES and then the N64. I honestly think they may have stumbled upon a gold mine here. They could easily have 3 different SKU’s of NES-mini’s. Sports themes, racing, RPG, movies, tv shows, the list goes on and on.

I’m curious how this will play out. Nintendo has done things before that the other two players in the game have tried to follow. Could we see Xbox-mini or a PSX-mini in the future?

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We’d like to sell you some CSGO skins at the following link.

Video games have come a long way. And I don’t mean that in the sense of how they look, but there’s certainly something to be said in that department. Probably a lot to be said seeing as how retro style 8/16 bit games have made their way into the current market. Those are mostly indie titles, but we don’t seem to care. It’s become less about looks and more about what we get out of it. But…hasn’t it always been that way?

Anyway, back to my point. We cover this a bit in the episode. As the younger folks call it, it’s our “back in my day” speech. And back in our day we had to plan ahead when we sat down to play a game. Mostly anything we’d fire up on the NES was going to need our full attention for the whole play through. If we did break, it mean pausing the game, turning off the TV, and hoping like hell a power flicker didn’t happen so we wouldn’t lose our place. Now, we have autosaves like a word document so we don’t lose all the progress we’ve made. This is only one aspect of the difference. And I’m not complaining, I promise. Truth of it is, while games compete against each other for your attention, they are also trying to grab it from everything else. Netflix, YouTube, Game Of Thrones, and now…an app on your phone. I dread to think what Pokemon Go will do to gaming in the coming years – the knock offs and integration into other games. For better or worse, it’s coming. You know it is.

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We’re still satisfied with a two year old console game at the following link.

Destiny still delivers. I took a 6 month break from the game only to come back to it and still be satisfied with what it was giving me. I had planned to take it in small doses so as not to get burned out before the new DLC in September but then Iron Banner happened and curiosity (plus the challenge of if I could) set it. There is still something very rewarding with what the folks at Bungie offer and while I’m staying away from the farming tactics that made it such a drag later on, I worry if the little stuff will start to become a drag. Not too worried though, cause I am still playing and I did hit rank 5 in the Iron Banner before the week was out.

Something about the journey being its own reward, right?

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We’re talking about E3 at the following link.

It’s one of our most irrelevant shows. The show before E3. I mean, it’s quite relevant at the time we record it, but by the time you hear it (if you don’t tune into the live show), it’s all old and outdated news and discussion. A lot of what you hear in this episode every year is just us and our thoughts on what’s to come at E3 this week. By Tuesday, when this show goes up for download and whatever, it’s already said and done.

Outside of that, we do talk a bit more about Dangerous Golf and I give my thoughts on Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. So for that, at least, we hope you’ll tune in. Then again, half the fun is seeing how right or wrong we were in our hopes and expectations. Here’s a spoiler for next week: we’re already disappointed in EA’s showing.

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If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then is must be…at the following link.

If you want more Burnout games, then buy Dangerous Golf. I’m just going to get right to the point of something I’ll probably say again on next week’s episode. I want more Burnout games. Support Dangerous Golf and there’s hope we’ll have something later in the style of Burnout 3. If I have a preference, I’d like you to support it on PC so I’ll have more people on my leaderboards to play against, but go with it wherever you like. I’ll actually probably double dip with it on PS4. It’s Burnout’s crash mode with a golf ball and it doesn’t really do anything to hide that fact. It smashes you over the head with about as much subtlety as most of the levels in the game with the explosions and carnage you create.

It’s delightful destruction, choreographed chaos, and artful anarchy. It’s also a high score chaser and I would really like more high scores to chase. Get on it.

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Hello…at the following link.

With E3 just a few weeks away we’re already on the speculation train as to what Microsoft and Sony will have to say at their presentations. It’s all but confirmed that both companies will talk about new hardware, but without naming a new console. It’s kinda the first time this has ever happened. Upgrades to current systems without calling it a new generation. This isn’t going to be the PS5 or the Xbox Two (I have no idea how they’ll get around that branding, honestly). It’s going to be the PS4 and Xbox One, but….more powerful. Sony is doing it for the VR and Microsoft may be as well, but it’s more likely that MS is just tired of playing catch up to Sony this generation. And I mean that in all aspects. They’ve been running second place in EVERYTHING. The new Xbox coming out after the new PS4, may put MS in a better position to actually catch up and take lead. Maybe.

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We’re going to miss you Uncle Scrooge…at the following link.

I am a sucker for Batman. Well, actually, I’m sort of a sucker for Bat…I used to be a sucker for Batm….I hate you, WB.

When I first heard, officially, about the Return To Arkham remasters, I immediately checked to see if Arkham Origins was included. It wasn’t. Right then and there this collection and I had gotten off on the wrong foot together. This was more a Rocksteady collection than one having all of the Arkham games included. I was upset it wasn’t included and upset they weren’t pointing that out in some way with the title. In fact, they don’t reference it at all or seem to want to having anything to do with it. Arkham Origins isn’t a bad game and stands up to the quality of the other Arkham titles Rocksteady put out. It’s almost at the top of the list for me had Arkham Asylum not set the tone and crushed everything we ever knew about superhero games – for the better, I might add.

It’s worth the inclusion although as more and more gets out, maybe it’s best it wasn’t included since the remasters are getting a lot of backlash from comparison shots. It isn’t looking good at all.

I really hope I don’t buy it. I’m probably going to buy it. I hate you, WB.

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We’re suddenly interested in Doom again at the following link.

If the conversation sounds like something you’ve heard before, that’s because you have. A few years ago we didn’t say too much about Wolfenstein when Bethesda was releasing it in May of 2014. We had no interest in it. What we were shown of the game at E3 just wasn’t doing anything for us or looking all that particularly good. Then it released and our tune changed VERY quickly.

So, here we are in 2015. In May. And Bethesda is releasing Doom. And here we are not at all interested in the lead up to release. And then it released and our tune is changing once again.

When games deliver like this, we’re more than happy to be wrong.

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