Chapter Select

In these dark and troubling times, we stay sane by appreciating the little things in life. For instance, at no point during the 2.5D puzzle platformer The Pedestrian did the main character die of thirst or break their weapon. And isn’t it nice being able to fit a game into a single satisfying evening? Jens and Randy discuss.

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Paul W.S. Anderson’s Monster Hunter follows the tomboyish Captain Natalie Artemis who, along with her team of wise-cracking UN soldiers, is whisked away to high adventure in The New World, where they encounter monsters, magic, epic battles, and perhaps even romance? Severed from their everyday life, Artemis’ troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome man known only as “The Hunter.” Now, inexorably bound together, these two unlikely allies must navigate a world both wondrous and hostile. It's not going to be easy, as the ominous First Civilization has sent their most powerful minions to stop the intrepid pair before they can fulfill their destinies.

Randy and Jens have each put about eight hours into Dark Cloud. Randy is enjoying himself. Jens hates his every second of playing the game with a fiery passion. Will the differences between them become irreconcilable? Could this be the tragic end of Chapter Select? Keep listening to find out.

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The final battle for the fate of humanity is upon us, and so is the end of our journey. It was long and arduous, full of pain and confusion, but its purpose has finally been revealed. After a four-year sabbatical to hone his narrative craft, Paul W.S. Anderson pulls away the curtain one last time like a master magician to show us just how everyone’s fates, desires, and destinies are intertwined. We learn Umbrella’s true design, the origin of Alice, and see the Red Queen redeemed in a stunning subversion of a familiar turn. Events from prior in the series that at the time seemed masturbatory and gratuitous now are thrown into sharp relief, their true significance only glimpsed in the final moments of this monumental storytelling achievement. As George Lucas once so wisely put it, "It’s like poetry - it rhymes!"

Previously on Chapter Select, Jens challenged Randy to complete Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on Jedi Master difficulty within a fortnight. That time is now up for our intrepid hero. Will Randy emerge from his ordeal with his head held high and an appetite for more? You’ll have to listen to find out.

In the episode’s B plot, Jens harbors the delusion that the show’s newfound sponsors imbue it with legitimacy, causing him to go overboard with the ads.

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Randy and Jens continue down the dark path of Resident Evil movies with Resident Evil: Retribution. Alice continues to battle Umbrella while the guys continue to battle to understand how any of the movies make any sense. Jens gets upset at the continued retconning going on by Paul W.S. Anderson while Randy loses all sense of hope as a veritable who's who of characters from the games get shoehorned into the terrible movie. With just one more to follow, do they feel like they have the strength to climb out of the hole that Anderson created or was the Red Queen right and "They are all going to die down here?"

In picking Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Jens hoped that Randy would take his first step into a larger world: the world of Soulslikes. Will Randy internalize the lesson to do or do not, there is no try? Will Jens spend the bulk of the podcast comparing Fallen Order to other games? And what’s the deal with Cere Junda? Listen to perhaps find out.

Resident Evil: Afterlife marks Paul W.S. Anderson’s glorious return to the director’s chair, stuffing the series’ first 3D installment to the brim with gimmicky nonsense. Randy and Jens discuss.

Randy and Jens embark on a pacificatory journey through the indie darling Undertale. Along the way, both find a lot to like, but also totally different things to dislike.

Paul W.S. Anderson relinquishes his directing duties once again, but this time to actual real director Russell Mulcahey (Highlander, Highlander II: The Quickening, The Shadow). The result is a weird outlier for the series that features some of its most competently assembled set pieces. Unfortunately, it is still written by Anderson, who contradicts himself and barely moves the overarching plot forward. Randy and Jens discuss.