Multiple Nerdgasm

Microsoft is finally shutting down the Xbox 360 store so Luke is snapping up some bargains and very, very slowly downloading them.

Topics discussed

• Xbox 360 store shutdown
• Super Metroid retro gaming nostalgia
• Point-and-click adventure game design flaws
• Assassin's Creed Shadows reveal (feudal Japan)
• Black samurai casting controversy
• Close to the Sun (Bioshock-like game)
• Control gameplay impressions
• Starfield update impressions
• Fallout TV show ongoing discussion
• Shogun renewed for two more seasons
• True Detective season 4 disappointment
• Real Men and The Stupids retro movie nostalgia
• Superman Legacy suit reveal
• Stranger Things season 5 timeline rumors
• Clarkson's Farm season 3 review

We’ve got two giant companies for you to get mad at this week: Apple and Microsoft. Apple for crushing a bunch of cool stuff and Microsoft for crushing the careers of some talented game developers. We also discuss Picard, Fallout, Baby Reindeer and William Shatner!

Topics discussed

• Apple "Crush" iPad ad backlash
• AI and creativity debate (Trent Reznor)
• AI voice acting and ADR controversy (Madame Web, Roadhouse)
• Fallout TV show episode 2 impressions
• Shogun remake vs 1980 original
• Fallout surpasses Bluey in TV ratings
• Star Trek Picard season 3 review
• William Shatner open to Star Trek return
• Microsoft shuts down game studios (Arcane Austin, Tango, Alpha Dog)
• Live service games struggles
• Remedy focuses on Control 2 and Alan Wake

Fate and technology were against us this week, but we pushed through thank to the power of eggs.

Topics discussed

• Dan's Vietnam language mishap
• Southeast Asia travel & beer culture
• Vietnamese egg coffee & egg beer experience
• Armed and Gelatinous couch edition release
• Logitech G Cloud Xbox streaming issues
• Starfield 60fps & dune buggy update
• Fallout 4 next-gen update & New Vegas nostalgia
• Fallout TV show first impressions
• Star Trek: Picard Season 3 review
• Captain Shaw spinoff rumor & Discovery critique
• Star Trek: Picard Season 2 criticism
• Zack Snyder & Rebel Moon discussion

Luke has landed in Vietnam and despite his best efforts has yet to be arrested. We talk about Vietnamese beer and street food, VCF East, the Fallout TV show, Picard Season Two, Alan Wake and unfortunately we reveal this week that Atlantis is not real.

Topics discussed

• Vietnam travel and customs stories
• Vietnamese street food and egg coffee
• VCF East vintage computer expo
• Buying retro Commodore 64 games and hardware
• Al Charpentier (Vic chip designer) anecdotes
• Woman buys 4,000 useless Alan Wake Xbox codes
• Star Trek Picard season 2 discussion
• Fallout TV show first impressions
• Graham Hancock vs archaeologist debate
• Sam Harris podcast guest controversy

We’re back after a week away, sorry about that!

Topics discussed

• Porky's and Meatballs 80s comedy retrospective
• Fallout TV show first episode reactions
• Friends theme song speed-up trivia
• Sicario review
• Rebel Moon review
• Sucker Punch director's cut
• Mulholland Drive review
• Mission Impossible franchise ranking
• Henry Cavill in The Tudors
• Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible
• Seinfeld series finale
• Seinfeld and Friends set design trivia
• Buffy dream episode set trivia

None of us are officially knighted, but at least one of us has played The Dark Knight in a sketch.

Topics discussed

• AI automation fears & Star Trek economy tangent
• Star Trek: Picard's Data/Q storyline criticism
• Dan's PAX East recap: Nintendo absence & Baldur's Gate 3 buzz
• A Link to the Past nostalgia
• New NES/Commodore 64 indie games spotlight
• Toxic Crusaders & Charlie Murder party games
• Atari booth & Time Crisis 5 arcade visit
• Dune: Awakening booth demo details
• Cyberpunk 2077 developer panel at PAX
• PAX Australia ticket info
• Gearbox sold to Take-Two & Randy Pitchford update
• Weta Digital / Peter Jackson buyback story
• Max Payne Remake bundling news
• Alan Wake 2 replay progress
• Control replay & Alan Wake Easter eggs
• Leaked digital-only Xbox Series X
• Xbox handheld & cloud gaming rumors
• PlayStation Portal vs Logitech G Cloud
• Portable battery bank recommendations
• Christopher Nolan knighthood announcement
• Dune Part Two: Spielberg praises sandworm scene
• Community movie & Dan Harmon harassment controversy
• Drinking rules banter

Luke has a new nickname!

Topics discussed

• Aaron Taylor-Johnson James Bond rumor
• James Bond gadgets nostalgia (From Russia with Love, GoldenEye)
• Real-world spy gadgets vs Bond gadgets
• Hoverboards, jetpacks & flying cars tangent
• Microsoft Surface laptop complaint
• Retro computing nostalgia: Pentium 90 & Voodoo graphics card
• Max Payne replay & Max Payne Remake anticipation
• Alan Wake 2 breaking even news
• GTA 5 marketing vs GTA 6 anticipation
• Control 2 & Remedy Connected Universe
• Matt's PAX East update
• Disco Elysium hateful Steam review reaction
• Wonder Woman all-women screening controversy
• First Amendment Auditor sovereign-citizen court case
• Police arrest procedure technicalities tangent
• Driving law jurisdiction & ACT drug decriminalization trivia
• The Sims movie adaptation announcement
• Masters of the Universe (1987) & 80s teen sci-fi trend
• Star Wars sibling reveal & Jedi overexposure critique
• The Acolyte & Star Wars Disney+ shows critique
• Phantom Menace 25th anniversary rerelease
• End of Watch movie recommendation
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire reaction
• Bill Murray trivia & Meatballs recommendation
• 1980s sex-comedy consent retrospective

Life finds a way…

Topics discussed

• Mission Impossible rewatch marathon (2, 3, Ghost Protocol)
• Sharon Stone/Billy Baldwin Sliver controversy
• Sex scenes in film & Henry Cavill interview
• Jurassic World dinosaur joke & Scarlett Johansson casting
• Dune ripoffs & piracy site joke
• Dune Part Two review & Austin Butler praise
• Dune Part Two: Chani & religious worldbuilding
• Dune Part Two vs book: omitted details
• Gina Carano Disney fallout interview
• Jake Lloyd's mental health crisis
• Star Wars prequel casting trivia
• Ahmed Best's Star Wars redemption arc
• Andor Season 2 & Rogue Squadron news
• Star Wars sequel trilogy criticism
• Andrew Tate re-arrested in Romania
• Hot Girls Wanted documentary discussion
• OnlyFans & parasocial relationships debate
• Fake influencer marketing anecdote

We also do our own stunts, as you’ll discover in this episode.

Topics discussed

• Home Alone bandits & film edits tangent
• Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning review
• Foreign language conventions in Hollywood films
• Simon Pegg's Mission Impossible casting trivia
• Tom Cruise's real stunts debate
• Alec Baldwin/Hannah Gutierrez-Reed Rust verdict
• Dune: Part Two review
• David Lynch's Dune & book adaptation talk
• Listener question on Luke's Dune reading habits
• Dune sequel talk & Princess Irulan trivia
• Jodorowsky's Dune documentary anecdote
• The Grand Tour: Sand Job review
• James May's Unpimp My Ride YouTube series
• Dune: Awakening & Conan Exiles nostalgia
• Sicario recommendation
• Rebel Moon & Zack Snyder's Netflix metrics claims
• The Creator & 65 discussion
• Jurassic World reboot rumors
• Howling III & Burnham Burnham school visit story
• Body Melt Australian horror nostalgia
• Neighbours & Home and Away soap nostalgia
• Celebrity mix-up story: Kimberly Cooper
• Star Wars Chile beer product placement edit
• Live TV audience-reaction editing tricks
• Geek of the Week: Shai-Hulud & spice trivia

Sure it comes with popcorn in it but once you’ve eaten all the popcorn there are plenty of other things you could stick in there.

Topics discussed

• Dune popcorn bucket controversy
• Physical media nostalgia: CDs & soundtrack streaming issues
• Merlin (1998 miniseries) recommendation
• Blackadder rewatch & audiobook habits
• Kindle vs physical books reading debate
• Garth Marenghi book & live show
• UK vs US Office humor & workplace sarcasm
• McDonald's Crash Bandicoot Happy Meal toy mix-up
• New Xbox Series X mid-gen refresh rumor
• Mars One / NASA Mars simulation mission
• Mary Poppins re-rated over racist term
• Dumbo's dated racial content
• Alan Wake 2 & Max Payne remake talk
• Remedy buys back Control rights
• Marvel's box office struggles
• Thomas Haden Church teases Spider-Man 4
• Three Minutes to Eight indie game recommendation
• Bluey: Flat Pack & Housework episodes
• Twin Peaks: The Return rewatch
• F1 Drive to Survive review
• NRL season opener in Las Vegas
• The Dead Center & Autopsy of Jane Doe recommendations
• Teenage fast-food job nostalgia