1Upsmanship

Vanessa Gritton joins the co-hosts for the recent remastering of the OG and sequel of the classic Tony Hawk Pro Skater franchise. The gang reminiscences on the changes from the original releases and how brands change over time. Though, they all agree it’s worth letting the nostalgia do a sweet pop shove-it over your face. I know you wish you could choose Rodney Mullen, but you’re left with Michael, Adam, and Vanessa. Sorry. Also, Vanessa explains why she’s a wiener. Adam explains what being rad is.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get ready for Michael and Adam (the Uppers) to have some contention. Michael waxes poetic about the power of this video game’s story and the experience he had while playing it. Adam on the other hand hated the game. Uh oh. Depending on how you land on the game, hopefully, this discussion will elucidate the highs and lows of this apparently divisive title, pee and all. Honestly though, let’s just listen to Swaim talk about the beauty of the game.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael and Adam are joined by Kevin Anderson, apparently the 3rd host. He hosts the podcast “Bleak in Review” on the Unpopular Opinion podcast network and now apparently this show! Today, the gang examines the indie game Hades from developer Supergiant. They discuss rogue-likes and game loops in general. Michael doesn’t want anyone from Supergiant to listen to this podcast.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael and Adam take a break from the real world and discuss the beautiful world of being the brother that will never be first place. They discuss how in this game you play as a lean, green, ghost-bustin’ machine who projects a goo-version of himself, which is what cum is! Michael believes that this episode suffers from the game being “good, but nothing to talk about.” Let’s see if Adam can bring the fire and convince Michael that there’s more than meets the eye (that follows you around).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael and Adam are joined by IGN’s Zach Ryan and tackle the moral implications, grind, and narrative of Sucker Punch’s Ghost of Tsushima. The group discusses genre as a whole and the combination of inspirations that made the game. Also, uncle-fathers. They talk a bit about uncle-fathers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adam and Michael are joined by fellow actor, writer, and longtime bean: Daniel Vincent Gordh. This time they discuss TWO titles from the developer Playdead. It’s a double feature! The simplicity and efficiency of these games push the visual concepts to the forefront. Beautifully animated and designed, both games feature ambiguous plots and endings. Does this affect the enjoyment of the game? Can our 1uppers put their finger on what makes these particular indie games memorable? Listen on and don’t get stabbed by the legs of a horrifying spider monster or get devoured by watchdogs.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

No Gods or Kings. Only Beans. The 1Ups beans have returned to dissect the 2007 GOTY Bioshock. Let’s get into the story of the franchise and the Half-Life-esque game mechanics and determine for once and for all if it is kept or deleted.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1Ups beans are joined by new beanie, Tina Amini, IGN’s editor-in-chief to discuss TLOU2, the most talked about game of the summer thus far. How did Naughty Dog do? Is the game a worthy follow up to one of the best games of all time? What the hell is up with the internet’s reaction to this game? Contains heavy spoilers.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whoa, what an episode. Michael and Adam make the cases for the cases that hold our gaming history. Let's examine the culture, the economics, the hardware, and the games through the lens of two very different gamers defending what made the system's special. Unfortunately, once they complete the segment "Keep or Delete" most of us will have to erase half of our formative gaming memories.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael and Adam sit down with ex-cracked alum Robert Brockway and pick up the sweet loot that is his opinion and critiques of Destiny 2. Adam is unapologetic about his love for this game. Can he brave the raid of Michael and Robert's opinions? Does Destiny 2 do a crappy job curating missions? Are video games better than huge orgies? You'll have to ask Michael's 72-year-old dad about that last one!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.