Pokemania arrives as the brothers begin their next category, spinoff Pokemon games. These games won’t include the mainline RPG games, but rather some of the "offshoots" that built on the Pokemon fandom. The first game up for debate is Pokemon Snap, released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64. Gotta catch 'em all, this time with your camera.

Pete and Tom reminisce about being young Pokemon fanatics in the late 90s. The brothers were impressed with the visuals but agree that the sounds didn't capture the essence of the Pokemon universe. Pete discusses some secrets of the game, resulting in a rousing game of "Who's That Pokemon?".

This week the brothers want to know what is your favorite offshoot Pokemon game. Let us know on one of our social media channels.

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Time for another brodown! This time, Stray, Grim Fandango, and The Cave enter the arena. Which adventure puzzler will come out on top?

There is a lot of disagreement between the brothers in their final rankings of these three games.

Pete compares Stray to Game of Thrones and Grim Fandango to homework (but not math homework).

The brothers enjoyed some of the sound effects in these games. Tom particularly liked the squelching sausage sound in The Cave and Ant praises the sound of rubbing balloons in Grim Fandango. Will these sound effects be enough to to propel them to victory? 

Give us your ranking of these three puzzlers on one of our social platforms!

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The brothers round out the Adventure Puzzler category with Ron Gilbert's The Cave, developed by Double Fine Productions and published by Sega in January 2013 for the PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Steam.

Pete and Tom were pleasantly surprised at Ant’s recommendation this week. Ant enjoyed the cave’s corny narration and Pete revealed his favorite puzzles were the ones where he had to be patient and do math. Pete also lists off some characters that didn’t make it into the final game and continually refers to a sequel that was never made and almost certainly never will be. 

Director Ron Gilbert was also the co-founder of another game development studio, Humongous Entertainment, which focused on educational games geared towards kids in the 1990s. What was your favorite game from the studio? Putt-Putt, Freddi Fish, Pajama Sam, Spy Fox, or the Backyard Sports Series.

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It’s another Brothers and Boss Battles DLC episode! In these quick dlc episodes, the brothers will discuss spoiler free reviews of new games near launch and give their thoughts. SMITE, developed by Titan Forge Games and published by Hi-Rez Studios, is one of the brothers’ consensus favorite games, so naturally there is lots of excitement around the sequel, SMITE 2.

After playing through the first closed alpha weekend of SMITE 2, the brothers give their initial reactions to the improved engine, as well as their concerns and optimism around new gameplay mechanics, like strength and intelligence stats replacing physical and magical attributes, the elimination of character classes, and the new (and improved?) item shop system.

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The Adventure Puzzler category continues with the cult classic, Grim Fandango, released originally by LucasArts in 1998 for the PC, with remastered versions being released by Double Fine for various consoles throughout the 2010s. 

Things get heated in this episode as the brothers have vastly different opinions about the gameplay in this hardcore puzzler.

Pete is offended by the unnecessarily loud sounds and nitpicks the details of seemingly every puzzle the game has to offer. Ant explains to the world what sound indicates “I’m about to fall.” 

The characters, storytelling, and music were all high points, but the controls were not so much. Pete and Tom award a specific part of this game as the worst controls in any video game ever made.

This week the brothers ask which colorful character from the game would you rather be friends with? Glottis, the fun loving, rambunctious friend who is a bit of a simpleton but always has your back. Salvador Limones, dutiful and faithful to the cause; serious and focused. Chepito, hardworking and gruff, but will tell you interesting war stories.

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On the heels of the first brodown episode, the brothers switch gears and start to explore the realm of Adventure Puzzlers. The first game up is Stray, the winner of The Game Awards Best Indie Game in 2022. Play as a stray cat and untangle an ancient mystery to escape a long-forgotten city.

The brothers hope you don’t find this episode lazy and stale, like Pete found some of the puzzles in Stray. Ant and Tom love this game, particularly the story elements and the varied gameplay. Ant brags about his platinum trophy. Tom expects to be replaying this game annually. If Pete wants a story, he’ll read a book; and if you want a good video game discussion, you should listen to this podcast!

The brothers ask you this week, would you rather have a Zurks infestation in your house, live in a city with no sunshine, or have your consciousness transferred into a robot body?

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Here it is—the very first brodown episode, where the three 3D platformers we discussed will battle it out for the top spot. We previously reviewed Donkey Kong 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Conker's Bad Fur Day and now we’ll see how the brothers rank these classic N64 3D platformers.

Ant complains about the controls of all three games but also emphasizes how much fun he had playing Donkey Kong 64. To Pete, it sounds like most of Ant’s reasoning boils down to DK being the easiest game of the three games.

Tom comes to the realization that Conker is one of his favorite games after his last play through.

Pete searches for a tangible reason why the brothers have so much praise for DK64, but not as much for Banjo-Kazooie.

Give us your ranking of these three classic 3D platformers on one of our social platforms!

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It’s the first Brothers and Boss Battles DLC episode! In these quick dlc episodes, the brothers will discuss spoiler free reviews of new games near launch and give their thoughts. MLB The Show 24, developed by San Diego Studios and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment and MLB Advanced Media, is the premier baseball simulation game. It is officially licensed with the MLB Players Association, bringing players of the past, present, and future into the game and on your teams.

As huge baseball fans and MLB The Show veterans, Ant and Pete give their initial reactions to this year’s game. They briefly discuss the different game modes they started playing, the differences in this year’s game to previous editions, and Pete brags about his 2-0 record in Diamond Dynasty. 

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To round out the 3D Platformer category, the brothers turn their sights on Conker’s Bad Fur Day.  This game was released for the N64 in 2001 by Rare, making this somewhat unofficially a Rare Studios category as well.  The brothers also discuss the remake, Conker: Live and Reloaded.  Help greedy, foul-mouthed, binge drinking, Conker the squirrel, tell the tale of his begrudging ascent to the throne of the Panther King. 

This is one of the most unique and comedic games you’ll ever play, but Ant wasn’t laughing at the poor controls and camera angles. Tom loved the music so much that he wakes up to the sounds of Conker’s Bad Fur Day every morning. The brothers laud Conker’s basic move set and lack of items to collect. They also lament that the sequel was canceled, but Pete reports all the known information about the lost sequel and discusses the history of the original game’s tumultuous development.

The brothers ask you this week, which movie parody would you most want to see in a Conker sequel? Toy Story 4 where you search for an old cartridge of Conker’s Bad Fur Day, Avengers: Endgame where you must collect stones for the infinity diaper, or Top Gun: Maverick where you reunite with the Squirrel High Command to engage in air combat. 

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On the second episodes of Brothers and Boss Battles: A Video Game Showdown, the brothers discuss the second entry of the 3D platformer category—Banjo Kazooie. This fan favorite game was released in 1998 on the Nintendo 64 by Rare. Guide Banjo and Kazooie to face the evil witch Gruntilda and rescue Banjo’s sister.

The brothers complain a lot about this N64 classic, including the maze that is Gruntilda’s Lair, the resetting musical notes, and the frustrating controls; but maybe they just need to practice more. The brothers do have good things to say too. They discuss what they liked about the level design and laud the game for the unique pre final boss battle. Tom has to explain to Ant that bears don’t lay eggs, while Pete discusses a lot of the history behind the stop ‘n’ swop feature and the secrets of the ice key!

The brothers ask you this week, would you rather drink an entire camel spit milkshake, sleep in a dumpster for a night, or spend a day bursting people’s boils?

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