99th Episode

Paul and Sean discuss a list of the top 50 video games of all time! There is no way we can get through all 50, so this is the a two-part episode, a first in 99th history.

This list is compiled of games ranging from the days of the original Nintendo all the way to the most recent console systems. Some hits that you would expect are there, as well as a couple surprises.

We haven't played every game on this list, but we have played a lot of them, and we have plenty to say.

The list we found is a compilation of aggregate reviewer scores, which leads to a well-rounded list. If you want to follow along, the list is published by that go-to source for video game news, Business Insider:

https://www.businessinsider.com/best-video-games-metacritic-2017-11

Come for the business, stay for the video games!

It makes for good discussion though.

Paul and Sean discuss a list of the top 50 video games of all time! There is no way we can get through all 50, so this is the first two-part episode in 99th history.

This list is compiled of games ranging from the days of the original Nintendo all the way to the most recent console systems. Some hits that you would expect are there, as well as a couple surprises.

We haven't played every game on this list, but we have played a lot of them, and we have plenty to say.

The list we found is a compilation of aggregate reviewer scores, which leads to a well-rounded list. If you want to follow along, the list is published by that go-to source for video game news, Business Insider:

https://www.businessinsider.com/best-video-games-metacritic-2017-11

Come for the business, stay for the video games!

It makes for good discussion though.

We are back to discuss Sandman! This is the fourth of our episodes discussing Sandman as we read through the entire story.

Season of Mists is possibly the most mythology-heavy and plot-heavy arcs of Sandman. We dive into this story of the burden caused by the Key to Hell in this episode.

This is a strange story arc to us in many ways. It doesn't have the thematic takeaways to it that previous stories have had, at least on first glance. We dig a little deeper to see if we can reveal any.

We even find a lot to enjoy in the middle issue of this story, about the child away at boarding school, that reinforces some of the central themes of this story arc.

This story also expands the world of Sandman in some interesting ways, and leaves a lot more open plot threads than any story so far. We discuss how this effects this story, and how it places this story within the greater series.

Hop in and enjoy the episode!

We talk about the elixir of life. Coffee. Some of us have coffee discipline, some do not.

Shonen Jump provides a nice easy way to read some nice easy manga, like Chainsaw Man. Chainsaw man may not be as nice and easy as it seems though, because the description of the premise is fairly long and convoluted.

Concrete is an easy book to read if you don't need all of the background on who and why the characters are. Just accept it and read!

When we pick up something new, what is the merit of jumping in right in the middle, vs starting at the beginning? Entertainment seems to more and more assume that you have watched or read what has come before. Harry Potter and Avengers are guilty of this. Or, maybe we are just crotchety old men.

Hell In A Cell, unfortunately, does not take place on the metaphysical plane of Hell. These matches are also overdone, apparently. 

After all, Our perspective is not reality. Please don't assume it is.

We relive the greatest crappy internet cartoons from the early days of the internet. Strongbad, Star Wars Gangsta Rap, GI Joe PSAs, and more. You know, the glory days of the internet. Also, Paul remembers listening to some bad music.

We also talk about the fun, and challenges, of discovery in today's modern day of the internet. Nobody explains their biases, and algorithmic discovery trends back to the norm.

Aqua Team Hunger Force sounds like a really bad show to Sean. This leads to a discussion of Super Meat Boy, which is good. Plus, other old games that are good to varying degrees.

Paul explains the divergent sequences of Mario games. Warning: it is complicated. What does it have to do with Star Wars? The connection is dubious.

Also, we discuss the quintessential vs the most interesting. 

After a little Neon Genesis: Evangelion discussion, we discuss the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Bad Idea Comics.

Sean doesn't care for the discussion around Bad Idea, he just wants to talk about the comics. Paul keeps hitting on the hits though.

Plus, what do we think of Eniac? And Tankers? And Whalesville?

All will be discussed.

Plus, of course other stuff.

Small snacks, little bits, cheese on a cracker. We talk about the bite-size entertainment that we enjoy.

Sometimes, we only have time for a small moments of enjoyment. In this episode, we talk about some video games that fit this criteria. Super Meat Boy, Braid, and PUBG all get discussed as good options.

Also, Paul is still on his manga trip, and talks about Urasawa, Pluto, and Monster.

Sean is sorting trade paperbacks, and has experienced the perils of tracking what you have across multiple media formats.

Also, we talk about Witchblade, which is better than you think.

Also, water cups. The water cups part doesn't make sense, but there it is.

We continue our ongoing discussion of Sandman with volume 3, Dream Country. In particular, we are discussing issues 17-20 of The Sandman. This volume consists of individual one-shot stories.

Calliope is a very uncomfortable story to read now. It depicts a particular kind of violence against women in a brutal way that is truthful to how bad it is. Still, this story was included in this series, so what can it tell us about the growth of the main character of the series, and the themes of Sandman?

A Dream of A Thousand Cats condemns keeping cats as pets. Beyond that though, it is a delightful cat fairy tail. It also serves as a metaphor for another kind of dream, the kind that actually can change the world.

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a bit of a slog for us. We appreciate the merits of this story, but still find it difficult to really engage with the dense Shakespeare contained within. Still, this touches on some central themes of Sandman, so we explore those in our conversation.

Facade tells the story about the internal damage we can do to ourselves by telling us about Element Girl, and her desire to die. We both have very different interpretations of the meaning of this story, so we investigate that.

We round out the conversation with a discussion that these one-shot stories play within the greater Sandman story. What do they add? What do we like about them, in the context of the whole?

Action movies, horror comics, action figure collecting, and trading cards all come up in this episode.

Nobody is a nice succinct action movie. Commando is an excellent action movie that Paul has not seen. Parks and Rec is a comedy show that Sean has not seen.

Sean wants to rewatch Neon Genesis: Evangelion again, but is concerned that it might be like Catcher In The Rye; you can't go back.

Blood On The Tracks is very uncomfortable, but strangely compelling. This reminds us that there is a lot of new Junji Ito. Including the new Pop figures. Which we won't buy.

Action figure scarcity messes with our heads. Toys are nuts now anyway. Cards are nuts now anyway too. Everything is nuts now.

We discuss the best Vertigo titles out there.

Vertigo is the famous imprint from DC Comics, that started with titles like Sandman, Swamp Thing, Hellblazer, and Animal Man, and continued with such hits as Preacher, Y The Last Man, Fables, and a lot more.

We find a very scientific list of the 52 best titles from Vertigo and discuss. Some we have read, some we haven't. Some we mean to read eventually. We discuss all of these takes on these titles in a whirlwind recap of all of the best Vertigo titles.

This is by no means actually scientific, it is just a list we found, but it is a good starting point.

Are your favorites on the list?