Stuffing Around

Welcome to the 30th episode! This podcast is now officially older than Max, who has brought his guitar and attempted to create a new intro (it didn't work).  

In the news, there was a Pokemon online announcement Max has devoured and Nick is slightly ambivalent about. Beyond that Nick has been playing up a storm. He's dived deep into the new Assassin's Creed Valhalla DLC, The Siege Of Paris and spent quite a bit of time in Hades - which is superb, by the way. He also took time out to play Back 4 Blood and is slightly concerned that it may not live up to the legacy of Left 4 Dead. 

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More people have left Blizzard, Idris Elba is playing Knuckles in the upcoming Sonic: The Hedgehog film (yes, really) and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's new DLC, The Siege Of Paris has dropped. That's all the news that's fit to print. 

Max, however, has been playing the new Back 4 Blood closed beta and he give his impressions on Turtle Rock Studio's new four-player co-op zombie shooter. Since Nick is as old as the hills, he played Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 back in the day and they have their DNA's running through Back 4 Blood. The pair of them compare notes on how the new apocalypse compares to the old one and what its chances are of being a success. 

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The Blizzard 'frat bro' culture and resultant lawsuit continues to depress, so Nick and Max have decided to take a look back at 2021 and the games they've been playing in order to feel better about themselves. 

In among the highlights are Monster Hunter: Rise, The Ascent, Hitman 3 and the latest Guilty Gear. They didn't mention Resident Evil: Village just to annoy an erstwhile colleague. 

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

This week is a bit of a Ying/Yang. 

News has emerged that the Blizzard 'frat bro' culture is worse than what was previously reported and (as a far lesser problem with the world at large) the rampant hacking on Titanfall 2's servers has seen a sad goodbye from Nick. 

But it's not all doom and gloom: there's a new Pokemon game on the horizon and Max has been playing The Ascent - a cyberpunk game that everyone really should check out. Its story may not set the world alight but its mechanics and presentation are superb. It's enough to prompt Max to try out cyberpunk literature, which he previously had no time for, which is saying something.

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

It's a bit of weird week for gaming news; Netflix has confirmed it's getting into games and that its first efforts will be in the mobile space and Skyward Sword lands on the Switch. On a more serious note, a lawsuit has been filed in California against Activision Blizzard over what has been called 'frat boy culture' and sexual harassment in the work space. Max and Nick pick through these topics, starting with the most serious, so trigger warnings abound.

As far as playing games goes, Nick has been rinsing Greedfall's side-missions and came across a bug that sent him into a fit of rage, and Max has been playing a game called The Ascent, which he can't talk too much about because the embargo hasn't lifted, but he can point listeners in the direction of its magnificent trailer. 

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

In a fraught week for many South Africans, Nick and Max hope to bring some levity. PlayStation had a state of play this week and two items that stood out were a new Judgement game and Deathloop, and thanks to the pedigree of the studios involved in these titles, the boys are very much looking forward to them. 

Nick has finished off Watch Dogs Legion's new DLC Bloodline and (shockingly) found Aiden Pearce quite fun to be around, and he's been playing Greedfall, a fantasy RPG with a rather sly commentary on the evils of colonialism. Max, for his part, has been deep in Guilty Gear Strive, which he says is a fantastic fighter that both the hardcore and the newbie camps should really give a go. 

The podcast once again takes place in the basement of a house that Max is looking after this month, so please forgive the echoes and the crackling of fire in the background - hey they had to stay warm! 

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

There's a new Robocop game that's been announced (hooray!) and a new Assassin's Creed game that's been announced but that will be a 'games as a service' release (boo!). Whether the former will be as good as the 80s film that spawned it is up for debate, as is whether the latter will be any good or a wallet-gouging exercise. 

On top of that, Nick has been playing The Olympic Games Tokyo 2021 The Official Video Game (that's quite a mouthful) and Max is dug in deep in the Elder Scrolls Online's most recent expansion, Blackwood - he says it's very good. 

The podcast takes place in the basement of a house that Max is looking after this month, so please forgive the echoes. 

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

Nick and Max go through this week's rather thin news cycle, which includes Remedy's superb Control getting a multiplayer spin-off and a big budget sequel. There were also a couple of acquisitions this week, with Sony nabbing Housemarque (the developer behind the superb Returnal) and Konami picking up Bloober Team (who developed Observer and Blair Witch, so here's hoping they're given something to do with Silent Hill). 

Nick has been playing and reviewing the utterly bonkers Scarlet Nexus and even though he has something of an aversion to JRPG's, this one struck some very positive notes with him. Imagine Devil May Cry and Mass Effect set in a Final Fantasy-esque world and you're starting to get the picture

Nick moved house this week so the podcast has the odd quip from the Hadadas outside. Whether they are impressed by Scarlet Nexus is unknown at this stage. 

Scarlet Nexus Review

Returnal Review

Control: The Art Of Not Telling A Story

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

Max and Nick pick through the bones of the E3 hangover and address the 'always-on-connection' debate that has recently been kick-started again. Nick's cat broke his internet connection this week so he has more than a couple of things to say about it. 

On top of that, Max is still playing The Elder Scrolls Online and the pair of them share thought on the nature of MMO's, whether one has time for more than one game of this type and whether or not Max will be getting his hands on the Imperial Edition of the game. This could lead to violence...

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch

E3 has come and gone leaving much news, announcements and gaming promises in its wake. Max and Nick pick apart offerings from Ubisoft and Microsoft and see what tantalising the pair offered at the virtual expo. 

There's a lot to get through and neither of the two has been playing much this week, so they both take a trip down memory lane to a time when EA offered the world a massively diverse portfolio. Those were the days, eh?

For more in gaming news, check Stuff » South Africa's Tech News Hub

And follow us on Twitch to see most of our gameplay live StuffPlays_ZA - Twitch