In the first of three episodes recorded together in one evening, Woody and I discuss some hypothetical situations where a very small difference in events leads to a very large difference in outcomes.

Here we start off with discussing how things would have played out if Archduke Ferdinand had not been assassinated... thus completely averting World War I.  (Surprise-- things might have ended up far worse in the long run!)  Then we delve into how the ensuing Presidential elections and economic swings would have played out if JFK had not been assassinated... and/or if his brother RFK had not been assassinated.  Do Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, and/or the first Bush still end up ever becoming President?  And, if so, when, and how does it go for them?

In this episode, I discuss the excellent modern 90's-style RPG Chained Echoes with John Comberiate.  Joe Comberiate was a bit busy with one of his kids when we were starting, so he joins us roughly halfway through.

There are mild spoilers for Chained Echoes starting at the 49 minute mark.  I avoided major spoilers by either silencing or trimming out those parts.  So, there are some parts where it'll go quiet for a few words or so.  These parts are all between just before the 1 hour 23 minute mark and about the 1 hour 32 minute mark.

The discussion actually branches out into a lot of other areas, mostly tied in with other RPGs and with videogames more in general.  We got into the John Wick series a bit at the end, and this episode left off there.  We recorded a little more that extended from there, which I'll hopefully put up in a bonus episode sometime in the near future.

In this episode, I give my quick impressions for a group of additional Metroidvania games I've played through since part 3.  Hopefully this will give you enough of a feel for each one to determine which ones you might enjoy playing yourself.

Games addressed in this episode:
Afterimage, Ghost Song, Grime, Souldiers, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Transiruby.

And there's also some discussion about the Castlevania Advance Collection.

Woody and I answer the hypothetical question: What happens if Biden or Trump dies at any given point in time between now and Inauguration Day, 2025?

In the miscellaneous topics section of our latest extensive politics discussion, Woody and I go into these subjects:

The Trump situation after four indictments, Mitch McConnell's ongoing health concerns, Wagner leader dies, Biden vs. Big Pharma, the writers' and actors' strikes, the first Republican debate, and Clarence Thomas' ethics questions

From May 17th, 2022-- episode 7 of Get 2 the Point.
----
In this episode, I start out by delving into how humans evolved tribalism, how our news media has become less objective and more biased over time, and how social media makes that even worse.

Then I go into the psychology of Donald Trump, how the Republican Party progressed to the point of nominating someone like him, and how he gets people to believe whatever he wants them to believe.

After that I look at confidence versus proof, the specific example of the 2020 Presidential election, and where things are heading from here.


I dedicate this episode to Howard Boyer, my last surviving grandparent, who lived to a ripe old age of 98 1/2 and passed away the day before this episode went up.  Rest in peace, Pop Pop.

In part 2 here, finishing the conversation from last episode, Woody and I discuss:

Homicide rate in DC, The status of the war in Ukraine and Ukraine working towards joining NATO, the Wagner group in Russia, China's economic power status, Washington Commanders ownership, Elon Musk rebranding Twitter, online services with ads, Cher Flair and Barbieheimer, the Hollywood actors' strike, cable and streaming, and how the music industry works akin to this to get people to keep buying music even as its variability decreases.

In part 1 of our 2 part conversation, Woody and I cover:

Hunter Biden's scandals and plea, Trump's legal concerns and their impact on the election, Biden's heat crisis relief and the impact of hotter beach water, What the Presidential election may look like in 2028 and VP Harris's chances then, the Republican candidates in the 2024 race now, mental health, Senator Tuberville blocking military appointments, the status of the Supreme Court after term's end, and Mitch McConnell health scares.

From March 1st, 2022-- episode 2 of Get 2 the Point.  As the world thinks about artificial intelligence in relation to the destructive capabilities of the atomic bomb with the release of the movie Oppenheimer, we look back to how computer thinking actually works.
--
Will machines ever come to life and take over the world?  Here are the important basic facts behind what "you" are, ensoulment into a body, how computers work, how artificial intelligence works, and how it all ties together.  No wasting time here-- I cover everything you need to know about all of that in under 21 minutes.  Heck, I even throw  in a fun thought experiment about The Flash!  Who's the fastest man alive _now_, Barry Allen?!!

In this episode, we continue discussing the videogame that I recently played quite a while every day for over two and a half months-- Tactics Ogre Reborn, on PlayStation 5.

My brother John played through it as well during that time, on PC.

For part 3 here, we look at our overall assessments of the game and continue with comparisons with other Tactics games and other RPGs.

Games like Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics:
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark (Windows, PlayStation 4, Switch, Xbox One)
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark's - Missions and Monsters (DLC)
Fae Tactics (Windows, Xbox One)
Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga (Windows)
Symphony of War: The Nephilim Saga - Legends (DLC)
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (GBA)

Games more like Ogre Battle:
Ogre Battle 64
Grand Arms: March of the Red Dragon (Windows, Linux, macOS) (Q4 2023 release)

Games like Suikoden:
Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising (PC and consoles)
Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes (PC and consoles) (2023 release)

Also mentioned/related:
Vandal Hearts (PS1, Saturn, PC)
Vandal Hearts II (PS1)
Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment (PS3, XB360)
Triangle Strategy (Windows, Switch)

There are, technically, some quick spoilers early in this episode regarding gameplay and recruitable characters, but not much at all in terms of the game's plot.

John Comberiate is our family expert on RPG videogames, especially Tactics-style RPGs.