Between The Joysticks

The PlayStation Pals branding is coming to an end and holy cow what an episode to end it on! Rumors are swirling that Microsoft is considering bringing all of its major titles to PlayStation and that would bring doom for the Xbox hardware. Sony held a 40 minute long State of Play last week and we touched on all the big announcements including not one, but two Kojima games. Finally we continue even further into Round 2 of our Video Game Character Battle Royale. You will not believe which character is stomping all of the heavy hitters he has faced so far. Thanks for listening!

Intro: State of Play January 2024

3 Things:

- [Rumor] Microsoft’s Publishing On PlayStation

- State of Play January 2024

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Bones (feat. Jofriour) - Death Stranding by Low Roar

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It is time to clash fists because not only has a classic fighting game returned in Tekken 8 but we move on to Round 2 of our long running Video Game Character Battle Royale. Last week we talked about the Xbox Developer Direct and now it is PlayStation's turn as we have a State of Play coming this week with some incredibly juicy rumors attached to it. We also give you a peek into our video game fantasy league and how we decided on our picks. Finally 2024 continues an unfortunate trend from 2023 as we talk about more industry layoffs. Thanks for listening!

Intro: Tekken 8 (Yes that is actor Bryan Cox)

4 Things:

- State of Play Predictions

- Gaming Industry Layoffs

- Fantasy Game Critic League Discussion

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Karma (Electric Fountain) - Tekken 6 by Keiichi Okabe

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You would think in an episode in which we gush about The Last of Us Part II Remastered that we could prevent our rivals, The Xbox Chums, from taking over the podcast. This is mainly due to the GamePass game Palworld being a surprise hit and we also got a look at multiple games from Xbox, including Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, in their Xbox Developer Direct 24. Nick also has impressions of the indie game, Dredge. Finally we prepare you for Round 2 of our Video Game Character Battle Royale. We whittled it down to just 30 contestants. Thanks for listening!

Intro: The Last of Part II

4 Things:

- Xbox Developer Direct 24

- The Last of Part II Remastered

- Dredge

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Take On Me - The Last of Us Part II by a-ha, cover by Ashley Johnson

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We have dueling demos this week as a classic Ubisoft franchise returns with The Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and the other JRPG of February, Granblue Fantasy: Relink (Not to be confused with the fighting game, like someone on this show did). We give our impressions of both. We have to wait until 2025 for the next season of The Last of Us but we have some big casting announcements to discuss. Finally we talk about the Xbox games we want on our preferred console and wrap up with our last two fights of the first round in our Video Game Character Battle Royale. Thanks for listening!

Intro: Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

5 Things:

- The Last of Us TV Show Finds It’s Abby, Dina and Jesse

- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

- Grandblue Fantasy: Relink

- Xbox Games We Want On PlayStation

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Main Theme - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown by Gareth Coker, Mentrix

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Jon and Nick have both spent time in Valhalla and completed it so they take the time to review the surprisingly story heavy God of War Ragnarok DLC. It has been 6 months since we revisited our Top 10 PS5 games and it is time we make some replacements. We then continue our coverage of 2024 by taking a look at all the games vying for our attention in the first 3 months of 2024. Finally we of course visit our second to last few matches of the first round of our battle royale. Be sure to vote! Thanks for listening!

Intro: God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla

4 Things:

- God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla

- Our Top 10 PS5 Games

- Yay, May or Nay - January to March 2024

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: The Master - Phase 2- Astral Ascent by Dale North, Emi Evans

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2023 is over and now we look into 2024. Will this year be an even better year for gaming than last year? We talk about our most anticipated games of the year and do our best to remove the fog of war around 2024 and predict what might happen. Jon has gotten his hands on a PlayStation Portal and we get to hear what he and our listeners have to say about Sony’s bizarre new handheld. Nick has survived Sanctuary and Lilith in Diablo IV and reviews it. Finally we go into our weirdest matchups in our Battle Royale yet. Thanks for listening!

Intro: Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth

5 Things:

- Our Top 3 Most Anticipated Games of 2024

- Our 2024 Predictions

- PlayStation Portal Impressions

- Diablo IV

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Longing - The Last of Us Part 2 by Gustavo Santaolalla

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This is it. 2023 can be widely considered one of the greatest years of gaming and the PlayStation Pals look back and talk about the good, the bad and so much more. With that done we go into all 9 of our GOTY categories. All of the big outlets have released their winners but what do THE PlayStation Pals think of it all? Tune in to find out! Thank you all for listening to our first full year of the podcast. We love you all and cannot wait to unveil what we have in store for 2024!

Intro: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Outro: Swing - Battle Theme - Final Fantasy XVI by Masayoshi Soken

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You played a lot of video games in 2023. But how much exactly? We dig into your year-end wrap-ups and spill all the dirty details on how you spent 2023. How is that Last of Us multiplayer project doing? Not good? Oof that is a bummer and we talk about it. Finally we touch on the “Official” death of E3 and on the return of our Video Game Character Battle Royale! Thanks for listening!

Intro: Alan Wake 2

4 Things:

- [NEWS] The Last of Us 2 Factions Cancelled

- PS Plus Wrap-Up

- [NEWS] End of E3 (For Real This Time)

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: Herald of Darkness - Alan Wake 2 by Old Gods of Asgard (I had to do the full version of this song - it just rocks!)

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The biggest night in gaming has come and gone and The PlayStation Pals hot off their reaction video have finalized their thoughts on the entire show. What did we think of the winners and losers of the award show? Did Spider-Man 2 get snubbed? We also touch on most of the “World Premieres” shown off at the show. You can find out which ones got us all hot and bothered. All this and much more in this week’s episode. Thanks for listening!

Intro: The Game Awards 2023

3 Things:

- The Game Awards Review & Thoughts

- Award Winners

- World Premieres

Outro: Love Is A Long Road - Grand Theft Auto 6 by Tom Petty

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THE GRAND THEFT AUTO 6 TRAILER IS HERE. I cannot believe it. You better have watched it. We return to Florida to get a glimpse of what Rockstar Games' next entry in the biggest franchise ever will look like even though we will have to wait for it. In more news we have the next big television adaptation, Fallout, getting a trailer. Fortnite is making some new game modes developed by some historic developers, and Dragon’s Dogma 2 makes a case for getting your attention in a busy 2024. Finally the Pals touch on giant mechs and aliens as they catch up on more games that came out earlier in the year. Finally the Battle Royale returns with some heavy hitters. Thanks for listening!

Intro: Grand Theft Auto 5

5 Things:

- [Topic / Email!] The Game Awards Discussion

- News Round-up - Grand Theft Auto 6 Trailer, Amazon’s Fallout Trailer, Fortnite: The Big Bang Event, Dragon’s Dogma 2 Showcase

- Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon

- Aliens: Dark Descent

- Video Game Character Battle Royale

Outro: I Don’t Want To Set The World On Fire - Fallout 3 by The Ink Spots

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