Have you ever played against a final boss so bad that it actually lessens your enjoyment of a game? Clayton, Kellen, and Trevor Martin sure have - and today they're going to talk about it. From Arkham Asylum to Starfox to Bioshock, some of your favorites will probably be covered, maybe!

Thanks to our sponsors for the episode, Cards Against Humanity, and to the Chicago Podcast Coop for the support!

In the last decade or so, there's been a wave of video games that not only ask you to make choices but then remember the choices you've made. The morality engine behind games like Dragon Age and anything from Telltale is a large part of those games' appeal. Clayton, John Patrick Coan, and Brandon Shockney get into some of their favorite games that require big-impact choices here, but we're only asking you to make one choice: LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST.

If you follow video game blogs at all (and let's be real, you probably do, you nerd), the last few weeks you've probably been flooded with talk about Bloodborne, the new action RPG from Hidetaka Miyazaki. Hope you're ready for some more! Guest Jake Goldberg (aka RedPandaGamer on YouTube) joins Clayton and Kellen for a dissection of this phenomenon. 

Thanks to our sponsors for the episode, Busy Beaver Buttons, and to the Chicago Podcast Coop for the support!

This week's Talking Games tackles one of 2015's big hot button issues... evolution! Or we're just talking about Evolve, the new "asymmetrical multiplayer game" from Turtle Rock Studios. Yeah, that's the ticket. Clayton, Kellen, and guest Tommy Reahard chat about one of the year's more high-profile game releases, then get into a general discussion about the multiplayer gaming experience. 

Thanks to our sponsors for the episode, Know Your Company, and thanks to the Chicago Podcast Coop for the support!

You probably know lots of people (because you're on this website, so let's be real) with long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign. This week, you'll meet a couple adventurers who've ported that idea to HeroQuest, a board game released by Milton Bradley in 1990 that aimed to simplify the more intense elements of D&D. If you never played it, it was crazy fun. Listen to Erin Kay Van Pay and Gannon Reedy talk about their party's tile-by-tile adventures here, including a touching tribute to a party member who departed in real life.

Thanks to our sponsors for the episode, Cards Against Humanity, and thanks to the Chicago Podcast Coop for the support!

Get ready to bro out over some sweet sports talk this episode with our guest Josiah Jenkins of The Remake Podcast fame. But don't get too worried... this episode focuses on the dynasty of Josiah's epic NBA 2K14 run. Plus we ask him the same question he asks his podcast guests every episode! 

Thanks to our sponsor for the episode, Basecamp. And thanks to the Chicago Podcast Coop for the support!

Dear listeners, this episode was going to be about video game violence... maybe. But Talking Games is nothing if not an organic, fresh organism designed not just for your entertainment but also for your personal growth! And when guest Alex Nichols mentioned that he recently completed 100% of the achievements in Grand Theft Auto V and felt... not totally fulfilled... about it, we had to follow up! Enjoy this discussion of beating a game to completion... and of feeding your soul!

Thanks to our sponsor for this episode, Field Notes! And, of course, thanks to the Chicago Podcast Coop for being the best.

Like a racist distant cousin or a really bad first date, there are always going to be video games that you just don't feel like spending more time with once you've played them a little bit. That's the topic of this week's Talking Games, which features special guest/friend/cool dude James Dugan! Each of our esteemed panelists will note a few games that, for various reasons, they just can't revisit, hurting innumerable developers' feelings in the process!

Thanks to this episode's sponsor, Desktime!

Sponsorships are provided via the Chicago Podcasting Coop, a really cool thing you should know about!

And here's the Loot Drop event that gets plugged later in the episode.

Kellen's still gone and Seth Owens is still here, plus Clayton welcomes returning guest/girlfriend Nicole Vespa back to the show to chat about video game bad guys! From Bowser to Lavos, we might talk about your favorite! Or we might not! Tough luck, buddy!

It's a safe bet that in high school a lot of us spent countless hours sending our armies into battle against the scourges of Ivalice, right? Yeah, totally. Relive those days when Clayton talks to John Patrick Coan and Seth Owens about Final Fantasy Tactics, including a dissection of the differences between the original Playstation game and the recent rerelease War of the Lions.