We’re streaming in 4K at the following link.

In this episode we have an interview with Atul Mehra from Spearhead games about “Stories: The Path Of Destinies”. I praise the game enough as it is throughout the whole episode so if you’re looking for my comments, just watch the show and the interview. Choices in games often mean something but they have little of the weight that the game would make you think you’re having. Except in Stories. Every choice carries with it a new path bringing you to different choices had you chosen differently just before. Where last week I was talking about how Quantum Break was trying to make your choices matter….well, nothing can hold a candle to what Stories is doing.

We also take some time and unbox a few LootCrate’s that came in. These sort of things work a whole lot better on video than they do in audio so give it a look if you have the time.

We’re talking about that one guy from that one thing at the following link.

I seem to be on a roll lately with games that provide choices. I’m currently playing a game that plays entirely on the choices you make. However, in this episode I talk about Quantum Break. Spoiler – it isn’t that great. It’s also not that bad either. Look, I like Remedy, the makers of Quantum Break. Max Payne and Max Payne 2 means I’ll always come back to see what they have on offer. Alan Wake wasn’t great either but it also wasn’t bad. They tackle the old familiar “your choices matter” mechanic and they somewhat succeed with it by not making it matter too much. While other games that try this want to make it seem like you’ll have an direct change in how the game is played or how the story ends, Quantum Break doesn’t do that. It’s the smaller ripples. So while you make that choice and you see it realized in their live-action segment of their “TV show”, you easily understand that what you just did won’t make a single difference on how the game will end.

Then again, with the story as lacking as it is, you might not care either way.

Our short attention spa… at the following link.

The way we get our information is constantly changing. It’s always evolving to keep up with society in general. The easier it became to get info the more info people wanted. Magazines/Newspapers to the internet is the single best example I can give you in a broad sense. But it’s evolved even further than that. Video reviews of games likely get a whole lot more clicks than written reviews. Even more than that, quick-look videos probably get more clicks than video reviews. We want the info as soon as possible and we want you to get to the point quicker than you thought you were getting there.

So where does a nearly 2 hour plus show about video games fit in? Background noise, work commute listening, we’re not sure, but you folks continue to tune in live and download the show every week so until that stops, we’ll keep doing this.

WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!?! at the following link.

Physical games (not sports), board games, mixtures between the two and electronic gaming. Outside the realm of “video” gaming there exists another love of most gamers and it resides in those three categories. Board games come in many flavors and are usually well known by most of us. Finding the right ones – where everything clicks with you and your group – is part of the adventure there. The other two bookending that selection aren’t as well known or readily available. These are games like the room ones where you’re locked in a room and have to find your way out. A mirror maze, the “2 Rooms & A Boom” we mention on the show itself. There’s fun to be had there and I wish these were on the same list of availability as board and video games are. There’s something fun about physically playing a game – and not one that requires any sort of athletic skill, but just you and some other people living a game for a few hours. I’m drawn to it and I can’t really put my finger quite on why, but…I bet my obsession with VR likely stems, at least a little, from this sort of thing.

Unboxings don’t really work so well on the radio at the following link.

I want to point out a specific caller we’ve had rather regularly on the show. Wmatthew calls in and either brings up something we’ve completely missed during the week or adds exceptionally to the conversation of whatever we’re talking about. His call this week was to address the PS4.5. His speculation of going the way of Apple’s iPhone releases is an interesting one and it’s going to take some time to see how this plays out. I can’t figure out if I would like a release schedule like that or not. Skipping every other generation, be it the new number or the point 5 version of it. I also can’t tell if it’s a smart move or not. Again, time will decide on this whole thing, but I imagine with how fast PC’s are outpacing consoles, they’ve got to have something in plan just to keep up.

Console generations are about to get a lot shorter.

The honeymoon didn’t last very long at the following link.

I had The Division for 3 days. And then I didn’t. It’s a pretty good bet that when you buy a game at full price and leave it unopened on a table for 3 days, you’re probably not going to play it. Or, at the very least, SOMETHING is keeping you from playing it. But that’s not what I want to talk about here.

Sony finally got their VR out in the wild and luckily for us they changed the name to simply, Playstation VR – PSVR – anything was better than Morpheus. Well, it isn’t out in the wild, but it’s now up for pre-order and I honestly think it’ll do very well. I don’t see it being on par with what the other two options will provide but if it gets people interested in the format…well, a rising tide and all that. Out of all of them, this is the one that needs to succeed. It doesn’t need to be better than Oculus or Vive, it just needs to win the vote of public opinion on VR. That’s all. No pressure.

We’re kind of divided on The Division at the following link.

It’s been a week and while I said I would wait on playing The Division until the community had spoken, I broke down and redbox’d the thing on Friday night. My will is weak, folks. However, I’m still not certain on how I feel about the game. Is it the lack of anything new to play? Is it the 8 or 10 other people on my friends list playing the game any time I log in? I can’t put my finger on it, but I keep finding myself playing this game that I can’t walk away with a straight opinion on. It doesn’t feel like a good game, but I keep going back in. I don’t like the shooting, but I keep going back in. There are some good aspects of the game and what it’s doing, but it doesn’t feel like it would be enough to make me purchase any other game doing that and ONLY getting that part right. It’s very strange and I’m completely torn on it, but I went and bought it anyway. If anything it’ll hold me over until Quantum Break and Uncharted 4.

We also talk about E3 again, too. I need to write about that at some point. Maybe if I can awkwardly pull myself away from a game that doesn’t feel great but I keep playing it – I can get around to that. This is weird.

We’re remembering fondly things we’d like to forget at the following link.

I’m not sold on The Division. I want to be. I seriously hope it does well because I’d like to play it and enjoy it. But I can’t put my faith there right now. The demo/beta really didn’t help to get a handle on that game and given how wrapped up I was in Destiny’s alpha, this doesn’t bode well. But whatever, I’m fully prepared to pass judgement on the full title and not a small slice of whatever Ubisoft wanted us to experience. Except I’ll need that faith to come from others playing the game, since Ubisoft decided to withhold copies from reviewers. I don’t really place a whole lot of weight in my decision on a game because of what a reviewer said, but other releases that have done this haven’t turned out all that well. Besides, as community driven as this title is likely to be…I’d like to see what the community has to say about it.

We’re moving slowly and dying often at the following link.

So this is an interview episode. We’ve had others but this one goes a bit long. The first hour is all about VR and SUPERHOT. With Matt gone we get to meet Amber, who’s been a lifelong gamer and even works at a local gaming bar.

The second hour right to the end of the episode is a wonderful interview with Barry Meade from Fireproof Games. Talking to the people who create these games will NEVER get old for me. And that goes even further when it is the creators of the games I personally love. The Room series of games are exactly that. You can also hear the giddy-ness in my voice…it just so happens the team of Fireproof Games were once members of another studio I so dearly love.

We’re completely wrong with our price predictions at the following link.

Consider this my stance on VR. It’s expensive. Of course it is. It’s the first iteration of it and, like all firsts when it comes to new technology, it’s going to be priced exceptionally high. Blu-Ray players were so high getting an original PS3 at $600 was a DEAL! It was the cheapest you could get a BR player and it played games. Jackpot!! So yeah, it’ll start high and the price will come down.

VR is also here to stay. As much time (which isn’t too much, but enough) as I’ve spent with it, it has drawn me in hook, line, and sinker. I have tried the Vive with the controllers, the Rift with the controllers, and the Playstation VR (Morpheus model). Haven’t had a single bad experience with any of them in fact, I wanted more. Devs are on board as well with most saying they’re excited for what VR brings to the table. Most of the criticism I hear about VR come from people who just haven’t tried it yet. And that’s the biggest problem with VR, outside of the high price of entry at the moment for most people, is that it’s extremely hard to describe to people without actually having them experience the technology. It really does fit the cliche of “you have to see it to believe it.”