Byte Me

Google has announced the shutdown of both of their internal studios that were making games for Stadia in what will probably be known eventually as foreshadowing.

Colby: Summer in Mara, Haven, Donut County, Crashlands

Cliff: CrossCode, Torchlight 3

Vinny: What game did you love at one point, stop playing but came back to it later and enjoyed it just as much or even more. I've been getting back into Sea of Thieves with the new season and I'm loving it!

Squid: When rating and playing an indie game do you give it more leeway than say a AAA game? I ask myself.

Cpt Insano6: What celebrity or celebrities would you want to play games with; video games, board games, etc.

Princess_Megan: Who is your favorite Disney character and why?

Elfsawrath52: What is the optimal gamer food?

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GameStop stock is being manipulated in a ton of really dumb ways, but at least hedge funds are the ones mostly paying for it.

SweatySpookz: Question for the show: In 2020 when covid first began, what would you do to keep a positive mind frame? Not an easy task but this could be something as simple is diving into a backlog of video games. I find it important to discuss methods or ways we can remain positive and look out for one another.

F3ar13: If you're in a restaurant and you're drinking your drink, if the waitress brought you a refill, do you finish your drink before moving on to the next drink, or put the old drink aside and go for the next drink?

Rdeacon: What major game or game series would people be shocked you have never played - My example Final Fantasy... just never got into it

Elfsawrath52: Newest iPhone camera v. Professional grade camera?

Elfsawrath52: What console is most photogenic?

PS Plus available  February 2, 2021:

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Games with Gold

Cyberpunk 2077 problems just keep getting worse between no next-gen update until the second half of 2021, a new expose by Jason Schreier and yet another lawsuit.

What We're Playing

DA VINSTER: What are your top three standout music tracks from games?

Cliff:

Cliff: If you had to prevent WW2 without killing Hitler, what would you do?

Princess_Megan: I don’t remember this one's been asked already or not. What is your favorite non-gaming podcast? Also, it can't be Behind The Bastards. As awesome as that podcast is, we already know you guys enjoy it (Robert Evans is both interesting and amusing as hell)

Elfsawrath52: What is the best way to organize computer cords?

Princess_Megan: The three of you have to appear on a current reality TV show. Which show are you choosing, and who would emerge the victor?

Cpt Insano6: Is or was there a game, that as a kid, you quit playing bc it was too difficult, that you came back to as an adult and blew through said game?

Rdeacon: I want to ask a follow up to the last question: What game do you struggle with now that a kid can beat you at?

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All Star Wars games are going to live under the Lucasfilm Games Label from now on, including a new Star Wars game from Ubisoft and an Indiana Jones game from MachineGames.

DA VINSTER: What genre of game have you always wanted to get into but just can't for some reason? Some of mine include RTS's, Souls Games, and Fighting games.

SweatySpookz: I want to hear a first time story. For each of you, when was the first time you felt rewarded for any content you’ve worked on be it a podcast, YouTube, what have you. How did that impact you & is there anything you would have done differently?

Princess_Megan: I wasn’t going to ask the Jumanji question, but with today's riot, 2021 just looked at 2020 and said hold my beer. What else is in store for us over the next month?

Rdeacon: My question.. do you feel there is a line that games cross that makes them too real?  This could be the chores in Zelda/Red Dead,  disturbing realistic graphics or even games that give you morality consequences that diminish feel of the game.

JoeColeslaw: Happy new year! Glad to be back! So question,

- how competitive are you with leaderboards in games? How about gamerscore, trophies, and achievements? -

Since you are answering questions all willy nilly... I had another question as far as the Lucas Film Games / Indiana Jones news...

-Is it almost too late for Indiana Jones? For some reason, "from Russia with Love" comes to mind. I played it as a kid, but I don't know why... not like I had nostalgia for the film... but was a  fan of the 007 series. Maybe this would be along the lines of their previous game, 2003- Emperors Tomb, stand-alone. Or coinciding with a new, movie.

Elfsawrath52: Where’s the best place to put a Buttloadda stickers?

Charisma_Icon: What are your favorite taco toppings? Are you a chicken, beef or beans?

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The Pogchamp Removal Has Been a Disaster

Patrons

Epic bought themselves an almost 1 million square foot mall that they are going to make into their headquarters. The Dead Rising jokes almost right themselves.

DA VINSTER: What franchise movies, games, tv, etc. would you like to see a lego game made out of?

Rdeacon: Since I just opened up the backbone and started using it... which is the best and worst system controller you have used?

Elfsawrath52: Out of all the consoles you have, what is your favourite remote not the console itself but the remote it used?

Princess_Megan: Which Funko Pop is your favorite?

F3ar13: Hi guys, maybe you guys can help me out with a little debate I had with a friend, what is your guys’ opinion, whom to blame for the shortage of new consoles? Sony/Microsoft, scalpers or the people who pay the crazy amount for consoles? Also, 2nd question, do you think the console had been released too early? What if they postponed it 6 months from now or year would we have the problem we have right now?

Elfsawrath52: Alexa or Google and why?

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CDPR is getting sued by their own investors for not disclosing that "Cyberpunk 2077 was virtually unplayable on the current-generation Xbox or PlayStation systems due to an enormous number of bugs." That's probably bad.

DA VINSTER: What are your gaming New Year’s resolutions?

Elfsawrath52: What’s your favourite desert plant?

And

In your mind the best 80s video game?

And

What are your New Year's eve/day plans?

Mansocks: How has doing the Byte Me Podcast for the 5 years affected your life?

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This episode is a little strange because there isn't a news section, because a) there wasn't much news and b) Cliff didn't have time to write show notes. But we still managed to ramble on for 85 minutes, so...

First off, big shoutout to our patrons (because I forgot to do it during the show). Huge thanks to:

DA VINSTER (Vinny): What backlog games will you try to get through on your holiday break?

Princess_Megan: Merry Christmas! What will you be doing to relax post-Christmas dinner? If it's playing a video or board game, which do you plan to play?

Rdeacon: Which 3 games past, present and future would you send the spirit of Christmas to so they could fix ONE item in the game that made it unplayable, tarnished the game, or has ruined the hype of a new game in some way.

Example for me Past: Mario 64 - Camera angles, Present CP2077 on console and future.. lack of cross-play still an issue

SweatySpookz[XB1]: Have you ever experienced a snotcicle? & if your male, have you ever had to experience it freezing to your beard?

If you have ever used an N64 emulator to play Golden Eye, did you manually map your controller buttons & if so, roughly how long did it take you to map it correctly and figure it out to feel comfortable to you? Perhaps not just golden eye but mapping N64 buttons to Xbox or PlayStation controller for example?

And in the spirit of @rdeacon question, which game or games would you like to either see a remaster or continuation of? And have you checked out Anthems 2.0 update yet? What did you think?

Tr1pletrouble88: Favorite color?

Games With Gold For January 2021

It's been a week of ups and downs for Cyberpunk 2077. The good news? If you have a PC and a 3070 the game is great. The bad news? Pretty much everything else.

What We're Playing

Colby: Far Cry 3, Snow Runner, CrossCode, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure

Cliff: Imagine Fun Minecraft Server (https://imaginefun.net/), Kona, Mummy Demastered

Not Dylan. Surprise Hans!: Tarkov, CyberPunk 2077

GOTY

Vinny: Do you think the criticism and/or hate CDPR is getting specifically for CP2077 is warranted? 

JoeColeslaw: Just last night a Holiday Miracle took place! I started explaining GamePass to my Girlfriend and showing what I have downloaded already, she downplayed it, so I kept showing all of the games offered, and she stopped me on Hellblade. I was explaining how it took a deep dive into experiencing Psychosis, she was intrigued. I managed to get past the boss of illusion, and she is buckled in the backseat, ready for a Hell of a Ride! The last time this happened was with layers of fear, odd choice, I know... With that, I have a question!

What games would you think would be just as fun watching, as playing? Something that's not too long, not too grindy, but an engaging experience.

TheBigDog: Which game was a bigger Disaster. Cyberpunk or Anthem. 

Princess_Megan: When you're stuck in a game, would you rather use an online walkthrough, or work on it until you figure it out yourself? I prefer figuring it out myself, but there is a point where I will watch one if I'm spinning my wheels too long.

SweatySpookz: Do you think BioWare will ever consider making another star wars KOTOR game for console, and if not, how come? It’s been a genuine question of mine for quite some time.

Mansocks: What is your favorite holiday-themed game?

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And that's what we call *actual* censorship

Halo has a release date. And by that I mean, they narrowed it down to a season? Better than nothing I suppose.

Colby: Far Cry 3, Eastshade

Cliff: Mummy Demastered, Kona

Dylan: Not Guerilla War

DA VINSTER (Vinny): Cyberpunk has been getting 8's and 9's for review scores, however with that, I still see many people in my eyes critiquing the game extremely negatively for it. Is this because it was over hyped, are the fans just being asshats, or what's the deal. Full disclosure, I've only seen tweets and small paragraphs of people's thoughts on the game. Haven't read a full review so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

Mansocks: So.. the question then in my mind.. Why are ALL reviews a 7 or 8 or 9

or 9.5

or .2

err 9.2

We never see "Damn this game just sucks.. 1 out of 10"

at least from the mainstream reviewers

TheBigDog: With Fortnite being the Smash Bros of the shooting genre by adding Kratos and a rumored Master Chief, who would you guys like to join the game? John Wick? Wolverine?

Princess_Megan: Christmas is quickly approaching. Which game would you be most excited to see under the tree on Christmas morning? That is if Santa thinks you were good enough to get one.

JoeColeslaw: The Shipping Industry as of late has GONE POSTAL! locally... due to the pandemic, staff shortages to sick leave, Christmas shopping, the peak of online sales.... the main hubs are backed up and shipping has slowed down and packages are delayed. USPS is doing all they can with what they have left. You also see a lot of stories now about porch pirates and more shenanigans. What are your words of wisdom in dealing with the anxieties, worries, etc. In this world of Mail service?

Rdeacon: What major property, aka Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc do you feel has had the worst overall games associated with them?

Epic Games

PlayStation users are getting their accounts banned for effectively robbing a house and leaving a business card behind.

Colby: Far Cry 3, Sky Force Reloaded, Cross Code

Cliff: Knights & Bikes, Mummy Remastered, Trials Rising, Destiny 2

Questions

DA VINSTER: You can get one fully remade game from the ground up, what game is it?

JoeColeslaw: For someone who slept on the Xbox last generation what 5 game pass games are a MUST PLAY? I have some catching up to do, so 5 DIFFERENT GAMES EACH! evil cackle

Princess_Megan: We have now reached level 12 of Jumanji 2020: Ho, Ho, Hey We Made It edition. What are your predictions to round out the year?

Aslan the Incompetent: What game, in your opinion, is grossly overrated?

Mansocks: What is your favorite post Turkey Day leftover creation/treat?

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