Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames

By Nate, Craig, Pauly and Will

A one-game-at-a-time deep dive show. We take a game, spoil its plot, and get deep into the weeds debating random aspects of it, just like you would with your book club friends. In Season 5 we are expl... more

· Leisure
· Video Games

4.4

77 ratings

FAQs about Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames:

How many episodes does Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames have?

The podcast currently has 100 episodes available.

Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames episodes:

June 16, 2016HackNet (2015)
This podcast is part 2 of 2 in our Hack and/or Net series. This week's title comes 13 years after the original magnificent Uplink that really forms part 0 of the hacking series, but that's not what's important because what is important is games that share flipped versions of the same name. But I don't want to rush ahead of myself and spoil anything.
Listen along this week as we delve into a superindie hacking game with ridiculous open domain synthwave hacker soundtrack accompaniment as you hack fried chicken establishments and college records databases. It's fun, but only mildly dangerous, much to our chagrin.
Relevant links!
RETICULATING SPLINES!
Danger! High Voltage! by Electric Six
The theme this week is "Total Bae" by Brink, from chipmusic.org.
...more
1h 11min
May 29, 2016 NetHack (1987)
NetHack is a 1987 text adventure game that's stood the test of time, surviving countless ports and interface changes. How does it hold up, and what is its depth? Each of us will give a dramatically different answer to that. Join us today around the campfire as we share our stories.
The theme this week is "NetHack" by Rob Balder, parodying of course the Butthole Surfers' "Pepper" - more info at his website.
...more
33min
April 12, 2016 Motorstorm and Driveclub (RIP Evolution Studios)
We process the closing of Evo by reflecting on all 3 MotorStorms, their unique swan song Onrush, and their late-blooming critical darling - the best arcade racer of all time - Driveclub.
...more
1h 46min
March 29, 2016 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011)
This week, we take a look at Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, the third title in the series, and one we found somewhat forgettable - until we took a second look, some of us in the Uncharted Collection on the PS4. This time, we're heading to the Rub' al Khali, as mentioned in the Quran and the works of T.E. Lawrence. Is it really fair to call this the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull of the Uncharted series?
...more
1h 52min
March 08, 2016Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2013)
This week, one bold host claims this is the best JRPG ever and that all others are stupid. The entire cast disagrees with both points.
Okay seriously though. Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is a lengthily-titled Studio Ghibli (yes, the Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle folks) role-playing game in the Japanese style, like Final Fantasy but prettier and more sensible but also more childish. You play as Oliver, a charming young boy who is taken to another dimension by his stuffed animal after he cries upon it. Yup. And in this fine another world, there are Pok-- err, familiars to be tamed, caught, and battled! Yup.
Relevant link!
Yahtzee says: Zero Punctuation review
...more
1h 31min
November 17, 2015Until Dawn (2015)
There's a lot to talk about this week as we inspect Supermassive's wild horror adventure, Until Dawn. This game is fun and only mildly quick-time-event-driven, but we come away feeling a lot more positive than you'd expect if you'd listened to our (admittedly early) Heavy Rain spoilercast. We also feature some lovely excerpts of a lengthy edition of Will's Gripes(tm), this time about character animations and use of the word 'garbage', was it?
All that about the actual content of the episode is a bit of a moot point though, because we have a new crew member as of this episode, dear Pauly! He's kind of the best.
Relevant links!
Probably from Bradbury: the actual 'butterfly effect'
The Butterfly Effect: an actual movie
As "How I Met Your Mother" shows us, a reference or two
The Nintendo "Vita" a.k.a. the Vitality Sensor
How hard is it to steady that Lightbar? Let's find out by pendulums and girls in the bar. Try to keep it still!
Podcast recommendation & backstory: Lore podcast episode 18: Hunger Pains about the 'villians' of this game
Still need to read it: Seveneves by Neal Stephenson
...more
1h 27min
November 10, 2015Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
There really isn't enough space to talk about Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2, the (spoiler alert) fantastic sequel to Nathan Drake's first adventures through the (spoiler alert/debatable conclusion) wendigo worlds. This game sees Naughty Dog and writer Amy Hennig at their utter strongest with plot and pacing good enough to keep even Will satisfied, right alongside so many millions of movie-style-game-hungry players that have played it since, so much so that you can now get your grubby hands on the PS4 remaster 3-pack - for all the peasants who weren't into these games back when they were cool on that weird 8-core PS3!
We talk a lot this week about plot and the femininity and feminism of both Chloe and Elena and we duke out who is the cooler of the two. There are no winners, as usual around these parts. We also discuss mysterious absences through the plot, iconic scenes, the train scene, Transformers spoilers, and, of course, everbody's favorite segment, Will's Gripes(tm).
Relevant links!
Probably the greatest music video of all time, The Chemical Brothers' "Star Guitar", fresh with train scenery
Well, okay, John Williams didn't quite invent the refrain; someone in 1595 did, but I still don't like him for it
Extra Credits on videogame music past and present: why it was better then
...more
1h 49min
October 27, 2015 The Vanishing of Ethan Carter vs. Everybody's Gone to the Rapture: Comparing shiny apparitions
What do these two games have in common? More than you'd think, and that's their abstract surrealism, the magicality of their wonderful worlds, and the gorgeousness of their graphics. Seriously, play both of these games and join us this week as we discuss their finer points, and how spiritual you really are in Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and how alive you are in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.Relevant links!GamesRadar: "How to Enjoy Rapture: A real Englishman explains"On The Vanishing of Ethan Carter's ending: references and more by The AstronautsEthan Mars from Alfredo's favorite Heavy Rain
...more
2h 17min
September 29, 2015Sins of a Solar Empire (2008-2011)
This week, we all sat down to play each other (or mostly, to collectively fend off expert Will) in Ironclad Studios' Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, which is a hybrid 4X and realtime ("RT4X") strategy game all about managing a spacefaring empire in the far-flung future. And of course since it's a 4X, you battle each other. And of course since it's a 2015 game, there is no campaign-- wait, this game first came out in 2008?! Ahead of its time!
We discuss our experiences, 4X play strategies in general, and generally rib each other about the inevitable outcomes of our two games together - with about half of us being completely fresh to the game.
Relevant links!
Who needs backstory?: enter Gratuitous Space Battles - a game where you stage a space battle and watch the ensuing carnage
...more
1h 1min
September 22, 2015Bastion (2011)
This week, we're coming up roses as we review Supergiant's 2011 double-A (?) indie darling, Bastion. This game has been around forever, and it has made its way onto so many platforms, it's almost difficult to keep track - but it began life as a 360 indie game by a group of seven devs mostly of ex-Westwood/EA LA fame. Needless to say, there isn't much resemblance to the days of Kane & Co., but what remains is a shining gem of gorgeous graphics and a fun brawler, though we wish it was a bit less obscure and a bit more RPG-ey (some of us, anyway).
The key thing this podcast might help you with, oh previous player of Bastion, is a far more comprehensive understanding of the story, which our friend Matt knows a suspicious amount about. Listen up!
Also featured are extensive recommendations, some of them strange, based on what we feel are similar or precursory games to Supergiant's first. And somehow, zero spoilers for Transistor!
Relevant links!
Bastion Original Soundtrack via Darren Korb on Bandcamp
Automodellista: racing made artsy (and mildly age-resistant) [Editor's note: vexels and oldschool DangeRuss on dA are probably inspired by this, wish I had known more about it]
Wiki: Zia is an 'unseen character'
Neal Stephenson's Seveneves is a book y'all should read. Because it rocks.
BT's "Road Trip" (or, ingame Tiger Woods 2006, "Convergence") sounds awful familiar...
...more
1h 24min

FAQs about Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames:

How many episodes does Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames have?

The podcast currently has 100 episodes available.

More shows like Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames

Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story

389 Listeners

Share Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames

Sign up to save your podcasts

Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames

FAQs about Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames:

How many episodes does Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames have?

Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames episodes:

FAQs about Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames:

How many episodes does Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames have?

More shows like Emotive Pixels: The Year of AAA Videogames

Easy Money: The Charles Ponzi Story