We have no quiz or top ten list this week, but in its place early in the show, it's the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine awards! It's a brief off-topic bit where I name DS9's most deserving characters in several categories: most changed, most annoying, most useless, and best acting. Guess which character gets the coveted Wallace Shawn award.

Then we have news, new releases, and email. Christian's android-based mobile game AsteroidDefense has been released. Pawel keeps it brief this week with his thoughts on Murdered: Soul Suspect and Shutshimi. Finally, good friend Bill (who needs to return as a guest host again) answers our recent QotW about favorite Double Fine / Tim Schafer games.

Game talk begins with my pre-recorded segment, in which I have very favorable opening thoughts on No Man's Sky (PS4). Next week, I hope to dive deeper into a discussion on the game's systems and what I'd like to see improved. After that, Addie and I talk about Stacking (Xbox 360) and Ghostbusters (2016/PS4). It's always nice when Addie has more to say about recently played games, but back-to-school could mean that her time will become even more limited.

In a half-formed, open-ended Question of the Week, I'm looking for opinions about what would be a better choice for the podcast: getting back into more retro games for review and discussion (NES, SNES, Genesis), or sometimes leaving my comfort zone and trying out games in genres that usually don't appeal to me (sports, racing, fighting, strategy, and multiplayer-only). Write in and let us know your thoughts on the matter, or for any gaming related reason. Email makes up an important part of the show.

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