TechRaptor Gaming Podcast

When it comes to buying games, every evaluates prices differently. One full-price game could have “more value” to one person and less to another, depending on taste, time spent in game, and enjoyment outside of play time.

Join us as we dive into how the value of video games differ among all sorts of people. Can you ever really waste money on a game? Are some games worth more than others? Find out the answers to these questions on this week’s TechRaptor Podcast.

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor

e’re trying something new this week we’re calling The Big 3 where we face off against one another by creating our own individual best of lists. This time we’re going for the best movie tie-in games, which are games directly related to a movie, not just something from the franchise. We structured it like your classic fantasy sports draft, so there are some definite reaches in picks later on.

Where would you pick such classics like Goldeneye 007 or Spider-Man 2? Would something like X-Men Origins: Wolverine or Star Wars: The Phantom Menace make your list? We discuss these and more, including some honorable mentions.

What games did we forget? Who had the best Big 3 roster?

Spoiler alert! Final Fantasy XVI has a lot of cool boss fights, but which ones are the best? We go through our shortlist to determine the best boss fight.

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor

Breaking away from our normal structure, Robert, Andrew, and Stretch take a look at the history of Xbox Game Studios and analyze how they’re doing. From formation and early purchases like Rare, to the flood of announcements in 2018 and the impending acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, we talk through each studio and their contributions. 

Are Xbox taking the right approach staying hands off with their companies? Has Xbox been missing a consistency that they used to have? What will it mean if Starfield or Fable flop? 
 

00:00:00 – Intro 

00:03:11 – Early Days of Microsoft Game Studios 

00:26:52 – Mojang and Minecraft 

00:36:45 – E3 2018: Obsidian, InXile, Ninja Theory, and More 

01:03:54 – The Big ZeniMax Acquisition 

01:23:51 – What the Xbox One Did to Microsoft 

01:28:35 – Do Xbox Games Review Poorly?

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor

This week, we’re bringing on our Tabletop Editor Giaco Furino to give us a snapshot of all things wargaming and trading cards. We go over Warhammer 40K 10th Edition, the latest Lord of the Rings Magic: The Gathering set, and Gloomhaven’s insane level of popularity.

Love Settlers of Catan and Sid Meier’s Civilization? Catan: Dawn of Humankind might be up your alley. But if you’re more into restaurant management, deep-sea fishing, and discovering underwater civilizations, check out Dave the Diver.

We also get a few things off our chest. Tears of the Kingdom, our latest 10/10 game, isn’t clicking with Giaco, and Final Fantasy 16 is simultaneously one of the best and worst games we’ve played this year.

00:00:00 – Intro / Rut Needs a Hunt: Showdown Friend

00:02:06 – Introducing Giaco Furino, Tabletop Editor

00:03:32 – Warhammer 40K 10th Edition Overview

00:17:24 – Magic: The Gathering – Tales of Middle-Earth Set

00:28:18 – Gloomhaven: The Role-Playing Game

00:33:22 – Catan: Dawn of Humankind Is Basically Catan x Civilization

00:38:27 – Dave the Diver Is a Quirky Management-Exploration Game

00:42:08 – Tabletop Editor Doesn’t Like Tears of the Kingdom

00:53:55 – Final Fantasy 16 Is Good/Bad???

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor

This week on the podcast Robert, Andrew, Rutledge, and Stretch talked about the big news coming out of the Nintendo Direct. Pokemon DLC seems to be named incorrectly, Detective Pikachu still seems weird, and we’re all excited that Super Mario RPG is finally getting a remake. Surprising news this week came from Los Angeles as their financial plans for the next few years don’t factor in the presence of E3.

The big game that we’ve pretty much all been playing is Final Fantasy 16. We talked about what’s been working for us well like the combat system, while also spending some time talking about elements of the game that just aren’t feeling as good. Scrappy also let us know that the Mortal Kombat 1 server tests are accurately testing those servers, and Rut has found another cool community game with a huge following in BattleBit Remastered.

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/june-2023-nintendo-direct-find-all-news-announcements-here

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:08 – June 2023 Nintendo Direct, Including Super Mario Bros. Wonder

00:32:06 – Is E3 2024 Cancelled? Not Quite, But...

00:38:26 – Final Fantasy 16 Is a Great Movie/Game

01:05:31 – Mortal Kombat 1 Is a Bloody Good Time

01:09:55 – BattleBit Remastered Is Battlefield But Good?

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor

This week on the TechRaptor Podcast, Robert and Andrew are back to tell Stretch and Rutledge all about their time at Summer Game Fest. We recap some of our favorite announcements from the show such as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Starfield, and Little Kitty, Big City.

Robert and Andrew also told us about what games they had a chance to get hands-on with at the show floor. Turns out Foamstars has some really good game modes to it, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown blends action and exploration well, and Cyberpunk 2077 might be worth revisiting for Phantom Liberty.

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:57 – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is TWO whole discs

00:09:19 – Starfield is all about ships and sandwiches

00:17:43 – Star Wars: Outlaws hopefully won’t have a Jedi

00:23:33 – Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 gets another trailer

00:28:37 – Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is another Far Cry game, kinda??

00:33:44 – Like a Dragon looks nuts

00:39:48 – Dragon's Dogma 2, Assassin’s Creed: Mirage

00:43:45 – Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Hands-On Impressions

00:49:23 – Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the biggest surprise of the show?

00:53:17 – Foamstars (aka Splatoon) Hands-On Impressions

01:01:05 – Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis Hands-On Impressions

01:05:45 – Lysfanga: The Time Shift Warrior is the biggest surprise of the show?

01:09:10 – Sonic Superstars Hands-On Preview

01:11:39 – Alan Wake 2 Looks Like Resident Evil, True Detective, and Twin Peaks

01:16:13 – Little Kitty, Big City Hands-On Impressions

01:19:42 – Fae Farm Hands-On Impressions

01:22:46 – Check out the rest of our SGF coverage at techraptor.net

This week on the podcast Robert, Rut, and Stretch are joined by our Diablo IV reviewer, Austin Suther. This week, Bobby Kotick’s interview with Variety led to some interesting conversation points regarding the “alleged” sexual misconduct in Activision and how the Xbox-ABK acquisition is “the right thing for our industry.” We also discuss the Power of the PlayStation 5® and advertising surrounding the PC release of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

In games this week, everyone is deep playing Diablo IV or Street Fighter 6. We talk about the positive aspects of Diablo IV’s boss fights, loot progression, and some thoughts on what could be coming in the first season of the battle pass. Street Fighter 6 not only shows incredible polish in terms of online gameplay but is an excellent resource for new players to learn the basic mechanics.

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:03 – Bobby Kotick “Breaks His Silence”

00:17:53 – Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Is Miraculously Coming to PC

00:32:03 – Diablo IV Impressions

00:44:10 – Street Fighter 6 Impressions

This week Scrappy, Otton, and Stretch get together to talk about the PlayStation Showcase, highlighting Sony doubling down on live-service games, the PSVR2 offerings, and some of the other big announcements including Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater and Spider-Man 2.  

In the games we’ve been playing department, we’re all still stuck in Hyrule playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Scrappy has decreed himself the ultimate Zelda gamer. 

00:00:00 – Intro 

00:01:20 – PlayStation Showcase 

00:02:19 – All the PlayStation Live Service Games 

00:17:28 – PSVR2 Games, Including Resident Evil 4 VR 

00:25:00 – Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater 

00:31:43 – Dragon's Dogma 2 

00:33:32 – What’s the Deal With Project Q? 

00:41:36 – Spider-Man 2 

00:54:00 – What This a Good PlayStation Showcase? 

01:00:06 – Tears of the Kingdom Impressions 

https://techraptor.net/gaming/opinions/who-is-audience-for-sonys-project-q-streaming-device 

https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/playstation-showcase-here-are-all-trailers-announcements 

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor 

This week on the podcast, Stretch, Robert, and Rut give predictions on this week’s Sony PlayStation Showcase. Do we think the hard hitters like Spider-Man 2 or The Last of Us 2 Factions will be shown off, or one of the many rumored games like Metal Gear Solid or Silent Hill 2? Also, Blizzard baffled us this week as they announced Overwatch 2 will longer have true PvE game modes. What does that mean for the future of Overwatch 2? 

Rut has been squashing bugs and building bases in Starship Troopers: Extermination, working with different groups to re-enact their favorite over-the-top bug fights! Robert and Stretch have been playing more Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (And I can stop whenever I want! - Stretch). They talk about some of the discoveries they’ve made, and how the mechanics and world have felt. 

00:00:00 – Intro 

00:00:46 – TechRaptor Indie Gaming Showcase 

00:03:49 – Sony Announced PlayStation Showcase for Wednesday 

00:24:37 – Blizzard Cancels Big PvE Promises for Overwatch 2 

00:39:28 – Starship Troopers: Extermination Impressions 

00:47:40 – Tears of the Kingdom Is Still Good 

TechRaptor Indie Gaming Showcase: https://techraptor.net/blog/techraptor-indie-gaming-showcase-may-2023 

Follow Us & Subscribe: https://linktr.ee/techraptor