Hyper-Bolic Game Chamber

This week, we’re talking about 2008′s Dead Space, a survival horror game set in the realm of sci-fi. When a repair crew is sent to find out what happened to the mining ship the USG Ishimura, they discover that the problem is way outside of their wheelhouse.

Our hero, Isaac Clarke, must struggle to survive on an old ship that barely holding together as a terrible unnatural threat tries to tear him limb from limb. His only defense? Tearing the monsters’ limbs off first!

Dead Space is a very cool game that we had a lot of fun with, which feels odd to say about a tale of blood-soaked body horror like this. Either way, we had a blast, and we hope you’ll enjoy us rambling about space monsters.

This week we take our first look at the blockbuster juggernaut Call of Duty series with Advanced Warfare. AW is notable because it is the first Call of Duty to go full-on sci-fi and also the first video game to feature Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey.

Advanced Warfare follows the story of generic plank of wood Jack Mitchell from his brief career in the marines, to adventures in the world of PMCs, to his eventual discovery that, shock of shocks, Kevin Spacey is actually the bad guy. Mitchell manages to survive all these challenges without ever developing a character. But there’s lots of crazy gadgets and massive explosions!

Advanced Warfare is cliched, bombastic, and generally pretty dumb, but it’s still a pretty good time. Did we mention the robots? There’s killer robots in this game.

Alan Wake is an action/horror game released by Remedy Entertainment in 2010. Heavily inspired by the works of Stephen King and the television show Twin Peaks, the game follows author Alan Wake as he attempts to have a relaxing vacation in a small mountain town with his wife but is sucked into a deadly supernatural nightmare.

After his wife is kidnapped by a sinister Dark Presence, Alan has to venture repeatedly through the woods, fighting foes possessed by darkness, on his journey to safe his wife and maybe the world. Along the way, Alan learns that he is also the most important man who ever lived because he is an author-insert character and ever word he writes literally changes the world.

Alan Wake is an interesting game with a lot of charm, but also a whole lot of big greasy problems. We attempt to make sense of the ~darkness~ and try not to get too mad at the protagonist.

*Bleet Bleet*

Colonel, two nerds are talking about my game, Metal Gear Solid from 1998. Remember, the iconic stealth game starring me, Solid Snake?

Yeah, Colonel, they’re talking about all of it. The daring mission to thwart a nuclear terrorist threat, the complex twists and turns of a hidden conspiracy, the unique blend of high tech sci-fi with supernatural elements, and even that cyborg ninja!

Psycho Mantis? Of course they talk about Psycho Mantis. That part was crazy. I dunno why I’m listening to it. I’m Solid Snake, I lived it. But if any other listeners what to hear about the game that kickstarted one of the biggest franchises in the past decade, this is a pretty good place to do it.

Jokes? Colonel, on the battlefield, no one has any jokes. I mean, these guys do, but they’re just a couple of goofballs with a podcast. They don’t know what it means to be a soldier…

Anyway, talk to you later, Colonel. Love you too. Bye.

We’re back with our first ever listener request episode! This week we take a look at Parasite Eve from 1998. The first ever Sqauresoft game to get an M rating, Parasite Eve is an attempt to blend action, horror, and RPG elements in an urban setting. And, as far as we’re concerned, it worked.

Parasite Eve is the story of ace detective Aya Brea as she attempts to save the city of New York from a para-natural menace known simply as ‘Eve’. Spontaneous combustion, mutant rodents, nefarious mad scientists, and a dark past all stand in Aya’s way. Good thing she has a grenade launcher!

Fans of our Resident Evil episode will be pleased to hear that wildly inaccurate science factors into this game, too! Also maybe some dinosaurs? We hope you enjoy this jumbo sized episode on Parasite Eve.

This week, we travel back to the medieval days of 2001 with Capcom’s PS2 hit, Onimusha! The basic idea of the game is to set a supernatural horror story in the feudal era of Japanese history. In practice, we get nonstop insanity that also happens to have samurai.

Onimusha follows vagabond/hippie samurai Samanosuke Aketchi as he battles legions of hellish demons to rescue his cousin, who was kidnapped mostly because she’s a princess and hey, that’s like half the job description. Somehow caught up in the middle of all this is actual historical figures like Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi, who may or may not have been bankrolled by cave-dwelling hell monsters the whole time. Also, Hamlet is involved, but don’t worry about that.

Dino Crisis is a fantastic game published in 1999 by Capcom, and developed by the Resident Evil team and Shinji Mikami. If Jurassic Park is Jaws, then Dino Crisis is Deep Blue Sea; a lot dumber, but also a lot more campy fun.

Dino Crisis is a tale of dark conspiracies, science gone awry, and one woman who just does not have time for any of it. Special Agent Regina Something-or-other and her team venture to the isolated Iblis Island in search of the brilliant but dangerous Doctor Edward Kirk. However, once they arrive the team finds nothing but death and mysteries.

Oh, and dinosaurs. There are dinosaurs all over this game. If you picked this game up because it had “Dino” in the title and you wanted to shoot some big ol’ prehistoric reptiles, you will not be disappointed. Sure, it’s basically just Resident Evil but with Dinosaurs instead of Zombies, but doesn’t that sound friggin’ awesome?

2002′s Run Like Hell is a horror themed sci-fi shooter with a troubled history. Despite a star-studded cast (including Lance Henrickson and Kate Mulgrew), the writing falls flat and the game bits are honestly a bit of a mess. Oh, and Breaking Benjamin is there.

After a routine geological survey, Commander Nick Conner returns to Forseti Station to find the whole place has been taken over by Street Sharks a mysterious new breed of deadly aliens. In order to discover the secret of these strange creatures and rescue his missing fiance, Conner will have to Run Like Hell.

Well, mostly he’ll have to find keycards for 6 hours, but you get the idea.

This weeks game is a half-baked 2009 reboot of a NES cult classic, Bionic Commando. Starring a fellow who would very much like to be Jason Momoa, Bionic Commando 2009 argues that what bright and colorful 1988 game about punching robot Nazis needed was a whole lot more angst.

The story revolves around legendary soldier Solid Snake--I mean Nathan Spencer as he is recruited by his old CO Colonel Campbell--I mean Super Joe to infiltrate Shadow Moses Island--I mean Ascension City and thwart the plans of the evil terrorists FoxHound--I mean BioReign. Also, there’s at least one Nazi still hanging around somewhere. Oh, and a dead wife, apparently. Does this attempt to turn goofy to gritty work in Bionic Commando’s favor?

Short answer: No.

This week, we venture back to the futuristic year of 2000 with this horror/action adventure, Fear Effect. This unique mix of crime drama, explosive action, and supernatural tomfoolery really impressed us, and we had a great time with it!

The basic plot kicks off when the daughter of a Triad leader runs away from home. Our rag-tag team of mercs, Hana, Glas, and Deke, set out to track the girl down and get that sweet, sweet reward money. Naturally, things don’t go as planned, and everything quickly spirals so vastly out of a control that, long story short, there’s demons in this game.