The Rocket Punch Show

This week on the Rocket Punch Cast is all about Xbox, as the crew sit and debrief over the latest round of announcements from the X018 Showcase in Mexico City. What were some of the surprises (if any) that Microsoft announced to the masses? Do Will and Cam think they got the presentation right? Plus, should more fan events like this be more relevant over traditional conventions like E3?

It’s time to talk about fame, fortune, and survival in the Old West this week, as the Rocket Punch crew sits down to talk about the hotly-anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2! Cameron has had some face-time with the game, and discusses his impressions with Will on how he feels with the game so far, but this also opens up an interesting discussion: Do games need to be more realistic to be enjoyable?

This week on the Rocket Punch Cast is all about "Crunch"! Cameron and Will sit down to discuss the recent events from Rockstar and Red Dead Redemption 2 involving comments about their work practices, and take a hard look at some of the overtime work practices in the gaming industry. With game developers working so hard, lots of the time too hard, to get us the games that we desire, can there be ways to alleviate the burdens of crunch for them? How does crunch trickle down and affect consumes and shareholders? Is there a solution for all of this?

This week on the Rocket Punch Cast, the crew ponder a thought: Is Microsoft and the power of X(box) is gonna give it to us in the next generation of consoles? Cameron and Will discuss the latest moves from Microsoft, including the announcement of the xCloud platform and rumors that they are purchasing Obsidian Entertainment, as well as their current service offering like Game Pass and backwards compatibility, and talk about whether they will have what it takes to rise to the top of the console heap when next-gen rolls around.

This week on the Rocket Punch Cast, the crew do their best to pronounce "Leviosa" as they talk about the the big leak around a new action-based Harry Potter game. With the leak, Will and Cameron discuss what they think of the rumors and footage shown, and also try to figure out what they want to see from this game. Could there be some mini-games used as classes? How about a simple, yet robust spell system? What about having a Quidditch mode in there? The crew discuss their thoughts on this and more!

In 2018, content creation has seen an incredible boon, with sites like YouTube and Twitch becoming more prolific for everyone to access entertainment with the swipe of a finger, and technology becoming easier for creatives to use and reach more people across the globe faster than ever before. It should come as no surprise to us then, that with this expansion into content creation, people far and wide work harder than ever to use this to turn their passion into a lifelong career. But, the reality is that an extremely small number of those creatives actually obtain that ultimate goal. Regardless, thousands of people continue to create, sometimes tirelessly, to talk passionately about their prospects, entertain numerous individuals across the internet, and learn whatever they can to reach their goals. While only a few creators get the chance to utilize their work as a career, we here at Rocket Punch were lucky enough to sit and chat with someone getting that chance of a lifetime.

The latest game developer to announce their closure is Telltale Games, and the Rocket Punch crew is here to discuss! In this episode, jam packed with lots of gaming news, the crew talk about Telltale Games in the wake of their announcement, and what mark their games have left on the landscape. Will their studio closure mean the end of the adventure game revival as of late? Will other companies learn from how the studio closed, and work to provide a better exit strategy for developers and their families?

Everyone enjoys art, in some form or fashion. One of the greatest things about art, and artists in return, is that there is so much variety, talent, and uniqueness in it, that you can never see the same piece twice. A great example of where we see that is in comics, which have such talented artists working to draw and make vibrant and visual stories, that we at Rocket Punch just can’t help ourselves when we run into a new artist and comics that we have yet to see. We have interviewed many artists on Creator Spotlight, and one of those reasons is that each one brings their unique take onto their work, and the comic Atom Bug, from creator Michael Mauro, is no exception to this rule!

This week, we check in on Nintendo and see how they are doing! First up, we do a quick run through of the latest Nintendo Direct, and talk about what games caught our eye, and what failed to impress. Then, we deep dive into the company and discuss some of their recent decisions with cloud save, services, and more, and ask ourselves why Nintendo seems to be hit-or-miss with some of their decisions on their consoles. Is it a good idea for them to stand apart from the rest of the industry in some of their tactics? All this, plus our impressions on Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed's post-launch strategy, and more await!

It's time! With the arrival (finally) of Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, it's time for the Rocket Punch crew to give their final verdict on the game. This week, join Cameron, Will, and special guest from the community, Stephen, as they discuss the webslinger's latest outing and decide whether it is worth picking up or passing up altogether.