In this installment of The Wonderer's Podcast, Jared and Retro (Nicholas), are joined by the third and newest host: Haley (LocDown98)! The Wonderer's start right off with the writer's strike ending after the WGA (The Writer's Guild of America) reached an agreement with Hollywood studios after 5 months of protesting. Moving ahead the Wonderer's discuss Starfield's (2023) reception and its sales numbers. Retro brings up how the game was on par with previous developed Bethesda titles, yet fails to reach the narrative height of Bethesda's published title: Fallout: New Vegas (2010). Unfortunately, the game was laden with the same narrative blunders the title that was released before it, Fallout 4 (2015), did. The game did sell millions, making it a significant success for the company.

Moving forward the Wonderer's talked about Microsoft is now be pairing up with Ubisoft to acquire Activision. Due to anti-trust laws it's been a very arduous process to fully acquire the company. Ubisoft wants to take the cloud streaming rights. After their discussion, the Wonderer's moved away from company acquisitions to monetary transactions. A repeat offender on this podcast, Epic Games once again graces headlines with a variety of announcements. To start off, Epic Games will lay off 830 employees from the company, which is quite the number. At the same time, Epic will be increasing the price of V-Bucks sometime this year. Interestingly enough, the company will establish a new program to incite more people to buy from the Epic storefront. They will do this by giving developers 100% of all profits made of the games on the condition they are exclusive on the storefront for 6 months.

With there being new releases like always, the two most notable that are talked about on this episode were Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) and Counter-Strike 2 (2023). Mortal Kombat's launch was successful as the game sold remarkably well. With the entire narrative being retconned fully with Mortal Kombat 11's (2019) story, the MK universe has been renewed with Liu Kang as the new God or protector of Earth-realm instead of Raiden. With new mechanics and returning initial characters from the series' original plot, the game serves as a bold, new take on the series. From fighting to shooting, Counter-Strike 2's release was accompanied by many being surprised. With updated graphics, tik-rate, and the transfer of gun skins to the new game, many were left dumbfounded as the new installment replaced Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012) which has been the flagship title in the series since it's release 11 years ago (as this episode is being published in 2023).

Lastly, the Wonderer's chat about Microsoft launching an abusive-voice reporting feature for Xbox consoles, allowing gamers to report inappropriate remarks captured in a 60-second clip. The feature, part of the September update for Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, is initially available in select English-language markets. Clips are only used for content moderation, not shared, downloaded, or modified. The update also enables direct streaming of Xbox gameplay to Discord and provides control over variable refresh rates, giving users 24 hours to initiate the reporting process, with notifications about actions taken against offenders.

Sorry for the late post, it's hard doing editing on a tight schedule. Burnout happens.

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Haley: https://linktr.ee/LocDown98?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=955a5021-3e69-4287-9552-9e0a3ae681c0

[DISCLAIMER: We recorded this in May but things got in the way for me to upload and continue the podcast, but with a summer break we're back swinging!] In a much awaited episode of The Wonderer's Podcast, the wonderers talk all things new and old within the videogame industry. In slightly older videogame news, the Company behind the card series, Magic: The Gathering, called Wizards of the Coast called Pinkertons on a Youtuber. The Youtuber in question was Oldschoolmtg who unveiled cards unreleased to the audience. In return, WotC decided to hire the Pinkerton Agency to raid the youtuber's house.

In more recent news, a new iteration of Mortal Kombat was just announced. Titled as "Mortal Kombat 1", the game is a sequel and also a "prequel" to the series. The wonderers talk about the confirmed line-up that has been announced so far, with most of the iconic characters coming back such as Liu Kang, Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero, and so on. With the a new game such at this, Retro than asks the question that will most likely come to every MK fan's head: What will the guest characters be? After, the Wonderers moved beyond the gore-fest that is Mortal Kombat to something more eerie. A new game in development, titled as "Unrecorded", was announced to very mixed opinions. The footage was "too-real" according to some, so Jared and Retro wondered what the buzz was all about.

Browsing along, Microsoft also released an announcement that there will be no more announcements (silly, huh?) in regards to the Windows 10 operating system. With the new releases out for the public to purchase, Retro talks about his time playing the recently released sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order titled: Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and how he liked it. Afterwards, Jared talked about his time playing Legend of Zelda: Tears of a Kingdom, the newest iteration of the established franchise by Nintendo. The Wonderers then mentioned everything going on with Blizzard. Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard was blocked by regulators in the United Kingdom. On top of that, Blizzard announced the long awaited PvE mode with the inclusion of skill trees for characters has been scrapped after teasing it since the Overwatch 2's launch. Lastly, Jared and Retro topped off the episode on talking about their favorite sequel in games and film.

Socials:

Jared from Midnight Labs ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/jaredkedzia⁠⁠

Retro_loneliness (Nicholas): ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/retro_loneliness⁠

In this episode of The Wonderer’s Podcast! Jared and Retro put more of a focus on the movie and show side of things by first talking about the two biggest bombshell theatrical releases this yeah: Barbie and Oppenheimer. The talk about their release dates, their cast, and the news stories behind them. With Oppenheimer being the latest movie directed by Christopher Nolan, the duo delves into Nolan’s backlog of movies he’s released up until now and talk about what could be their favorites.

Swinging away from Christopher Nolan, Jared then brings up the latest Spiderverse movie and talks about the hype behind it. Retro and Jared then talk about their favorite spidermen, despite them maybe not having the spotlight to the sequel to 2018’s  Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse. From comic book movies to videogame movies, The Wonderer’s talk about The Super Mario Bros. Movie which just released in this year. Retro and Jared then discuss how much the movie has made and what the history of videogame movies have been like in Hollywood. The they turn the topic inside out, and discuss movie tie-in videogames.

Moving from movies entirely, the cast talk about the state of videogames come in, initially intended to have many features in the game during the pre-release, promotional material but release with what seems to be the shadow of what could have been. Jared, passionate about this, mentions his favorite game series: Bioshock. And how Retro, then mentions Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain as examples. In regards to content, God of War: Ragnarok released a new update bringing new armors and the long anticipated New Game + (plus). With the idea of content being added to games, one piece of content will likely float around in limbo until the otherwise with Dark and Darker.

The Wonderer's then shift their focus over a nostalgic topic: "Will mobile games take over consoles?". And how that didn't end up happening as much as people were anticipating it. With software being introduced to windows 11 adding advertisements to the home screen, Retro comments on to why that actually sucks and why Windows 10 was better. The banter goes back and forth, but The Wonderers just hope that the future of Windows 11 is brighter.

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In this episode of The Wonderer's Podcast, Jared from Midnight Lab and Retro_loneliness (Nick) give you smaller more dense episode today. Covering some of the most eye catching stories from the Game Developer's Conference of 2023 startung with Elden Ring winning Game of the Year at the Game Developer's Choice Awards held at the conference while mentioning God of War: Ragnarok coming in second all the while still winning its own share of awards too. After, Retro brings up how around the same time Doug Bowser, head of Nintendo of America, announced in an Interview with the AP news how the latest Legend of Zelda game will be $70 dollars and games will vary in between "normal pricing" and $70 dollars on a case by case basis.

Diverting back to GDC, Retro then talks about the Epic Game's presentation, and what new things they provided. To start off, Epic will be rolling out a sweeping update to Fortnite with the Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN) also dubbed "Creative 2.0" available to all to be downloaded for free on the Epic Games Store. According to GameSpot, UEFN is designed for "creating new games and experiences within Fortnite Creative mode". Not only will the creative mode of Fortnite be updated but so will how people will make money off their creations on Fortnite with "Creator Economy 2.0". After, the Wonderers then discuss Epic MetaHuman, an innovate new way to animate realistic human characters in a much more streamlined process.

On the next topic on the list, Jared brings up how mainstream narratives are often too afraid to kill of mainstay characters. One example Jared brought up was Star Wars. In the original and the prequels, lots of central characters to the plot then were killed off such as: Darth Maul, Boba Fett, and the Darth Sideous. Lastly, the Wondererer's finally go into what's happening, the what if's, and what could happen as they try to make sense of the new A.I bots like ChatGPT as they become more and more mainstream. The most notable details of the conversation where about the how ChatGPT conversation histories were leaked for others to see. Then the Wonderer's put on their tinfoil hats and talk about the future of A.I and it's influence with the economy and its potential disrupture of jobs which aren't limited to the tech sectors.

The Wonderers this episode jump into a myriad of topics. To start off, Retro_loneliness (Nick) and Jared from Midnight Labs talk discuss the two most promising game announcements from Sony's State of Play: the last of Street Fighter 6's characters in the launch roster and the Resident Evil: 4 remake. The Wonderers fond over their appreciation for the series over the span of its inception all the way up to street fighter 5  and how it has evolved over the years. With the Resident Evil: 4's remake releasing, The Wonderer's couldn't help but spot how to the game is being adapted for the newer generations of gamers in today's age. The three most notable things they spotted were: how the much the characters have all been updated such as Leon, the enemies, and especially Ashley, how the ranged combat will differ from the original, and lastly how Leon's knife has been drastically altered. For better or worse? The Wonderers ponder that. 

Jared then segues into his first impressions of one of this month's (February 2023) biggest releases: Sons of the Forest. The game being a direct sequel to The Forest (2014). Jared goes into detail how the game has added new mechanics, new systems of progression, and NPC Companions. The biggest tell is how the game was released as as Early-Access, yet their is an active countdown for the next update to be released on the main menu. Nick then brings up bombshell news that any PC gamer will be interested in: Counter-Strike 2. 

With Sony's State of Play, gameplay for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was shown with very dim reactions by audiences and viewers. The Wonderers critique the game and compare it to other live-service games such as Anthem (2019) and Marvel's Avengers (2020) that have essentially failed. Other things mentioned are how the story canonically takes place in the same timeline as the Batman: Arkham series yet the game has nothing to do with it from a glance, and how it's going to be an always online style of game. Grunting past that, they then discuss the Stadia, Google's attempt into the gaming sphere and how it has also failed.

With things feeling like failures, Nintendo has been a topic of interest to The Wonderer's. Since the Game Cube's failure as a console, Nintendo's move to becoming family friendly has unfortunately made the game released feel too easy, and what seems more tailored to children (perhaps). They go into previous games released by Nintendo that have been more mature in terms of gameplay, stories, and theme. All the while praising Nintendo's Metroid Prime remaster that recently released. Diving into stuff that has a bit more heat around it, The Wonderers talk about Atomic Heart. With its release, they only address the concerns of how the game praises the Soviet Union and glamourizes communism. They bring up comparisons to the Bioshock series. 

Wrapping up the episode, they show their disdain for the recent actions popular collectible company, Funko, has committed. With it's decision to offload its excess inventory, the company decided its best course of action was to dump billions of dollars of its products into landfills. Lastly, Jared gives the last of his thoughts on the ensuing Last of Us HBOMax series that has gained notoriety for its writing, acting, and etc.

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Jared from Midnight Labs

https://linktr.ee/jaredkedzia

Retro_loneliness (Nicholas):

https://linktr.ee/retro_loneliness

On this episode of the podcast, the tired Jared from Midnight Labs and Retro_loneliness dive right into the one of this year's latest game releases: Hogwarts Legacy. The Wonderers talk about the game's reception in the market and overall performance. The game's setting within the Harry Potter universe takes place in the decade of the 1890's, long before the days of the the movies' beloved protagonists: Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The game's inventory menu is that of Destiny 2's or Elden Ring. A notable feature in Hogwarts Legacy gives players the ability to "transmogrify" or change the physical appearance of the their current garments to the one they used before that was under-leveled after (if that makes any sense). The game's combat mechanics are comparable to that of the Souls-series games such as Dark Souls, Blood Borne, or Elden Ring.

Moving on, the duo go on about the cancelled third installment in the Titanfall series titled, Titanfall: Legends. The game featured the return of protagonists: Jack Cooper & Titan BT-7274 (referred to as "BT" for short). The game was going to be a single-player, open-world experience where as the game progressed Cooper would repair and upgrade BT using Rampart's workshop with multiple Apex Legends characters assisting Cooper along the game. The Wonderers theorized that perhaps the monetary success of Apex Legends, a battle royale that exists within the Titanfall universe has led to the Legends' cancellation. With Titanfall: Legends being sunsetted, one of the Sony's biggest initial selling points will be leaving as well.

The Wonderers then talk about how the Playstation Plus Collection will be leaving the store May 9th, 2023. When the Playstation 5 first released, the Playstation Plus Collection offered new players who migrated from other peripherals or missed out on the list of games' initial releases the opportunity to be able to play them. The two talk about the respective games within the list they particularly enjoyed playing. Moving from videogames the pair went into the ethics of Piracy and when it is valid to engage in it.

The Wonderers then yet again complain about something else, this time being Netflix cracking down on account sharing and adding a cheaper, advert supported tier to their subscription model. They then talk about the downfall of Rick and Morty series co-creator: Justin Roiland. After, the pair talk about shows returning for another season such as: Aqua-teen Hunger Force and Futurama. Capping off the last of the episode, the Wonderer's talk about their excitement for the new DC Cinematic Universe now being orchestrated by superhero-movie veteran, James Gunn. They mention how the upcoming release of the Flash movie will "retcon" or reset the entire DC cinematic universe inspired by the Flashpoint comic book storyline. The movie will usher a clean slate for the Gunn to bring back the franchise to form.

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On this episode of the Wonderers talk about the state of the Assassin's Creed series and how it has changed over the course of the years. As later iterations of the series have been released, many of the fans have been alienated towards how the series is moving forward. With the release of the last three games (Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla), the departure from the series mainstay of the sandbox to open-world has caused the dynamics of the series to change. Moving on from that they then talk about how it is deeply annoying to have to deal with timed exclusives, how long they are exclusively available on certain storefronts, how they could affect sales in the short/long run. Although games today are exclusive to some places for a time today, the Wonderers recollect memories of the videogames that defined their childhoods. 

The hone on a specific game, Jared mentions the how much he really enjoyed the Amnesia series growing up and is excited about the latest addition to the series, Amnesia: The Bunker. With the series coming back with its 4th installment slated to release March 23rd (as of writing this), the game takes the series to a French World War 1 bunker where the protagonist uses a weapon for the first time in the series' history. Nick then mentions how it reminded him of the Battle of Verdun, a real battle that took place in World War 1, where French soldiers defended the Fort de Vaux. Moving forward from videogames, the Wonderers bring up the latest videogame adaptation brought to screens for all to see, the Last of Us television show on HBO MAX. The show has garnered a lot of notoriety due to its wholeheartedly welcomed faithful adaptation of the popular game series it's inspired by. With the mention of how scary the show actually was, the Wonderers dive back into horror as a genre and the criticisms behind it. With horror movies getting remakes every couple years, it isn't a surprise that Disney has chosen to do the same thing with their classics.

Towards the end of the podcast, Retro mentions how the decline in western animation (Cartoons), has led to the explosion of anime's popularity in the western hemisphere. Even if an anime ends up being an amazing show to watch, the last big question posed was, "When is it the right time to end a series?". Some shows mentioned were Gravity Falls and The Walking Dead. 

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Jared:

Nicholas:

In this episode of The Wonderer's Podcast, Retro_loneliness (Nick) is joined by his step brother: Jared from Midnight Lab. In an unfortunate absence, the new duo venture into many different new topics. To begin, the Wonderer's talked about the new games that are to release in 2023. After, they got their hands dirty as they explored whether 2008's Dead Space remake will look like as it also comes out early this year. In general sense, they then dived more into the recent rise in videogame remakes within the gaming industry highlighting the problems that have arisen from them. As much as Dead Space was quite a hit for it's sci-fi horror, the Wonderer's talk about what makes them shit their pants as horror in videogames as evolved overtime. 

Stepping away from single-player experiences overall, they then discuss how the vacuum that loot box systems have left caused the rise of live service systems (battle passes in other words). The Wonderer's speculate how the cash cow that Fortnite is today has significantly inspired competitors to execute similar ideas with legacy titles that never had them before. With mainstay series' like Overwatch, Battlefield, and Call of Duty all being affected by this, the state of gaming as of now has left the Wonderer's with a sour taste in their mouths. 

With a surprise character teaser announced, the Wonderer's shift their focus discussing the return of the long lost sequel towards the 2011's Dead Island how it's how it's being promoted to a new generation of gamers today. As the Wonderer's trudge along, the talk about how they no longer are on the hype-train in a post- Avengers: Endgame world. And with there being sequels upon sequels (and now including shows), Marvel Fatigue has already set in. Jared then led the show with the issue Disney currently has with their movies and how the in general movies are pitted against a shadow organization known as the MPA (the motion picture administration. 

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Nicholas:

*As I publish this I will make sure to pick up the pace from where I (Retro) have left off. I know now that my mic is a little low towards the end, and my mom briefly knocked on my door.*

On this episode of The Wonderers Podcast!, hosts Justin, Josh and Nicholas lament Blake's absence. In turn they go through their reactions towards the brand new Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer and the delays of certain, and anticipated theatrical movies.

The trio then switch it up and talk about big games coming later in 2021 and even 2022 such as Call of Duty: Vanguard, Halo Infinite, WWE 2K22, Horizon: Forbidden West, and Marvel’s Midnight Sons. Whilst discussing the games of the future, they recall past games and wonder: What justifies remakes for them and how soon is too soon for one in the first place. 

They also talk about the brand new Kanye West album, Donda and the surprise that it actually came out. Then all the hosts talk about their experiences of the concerts they’ve been to recently including Guns N’ Roses, Rise Against/Descendents, Megadeth/Lamb of God and the San Diego and Los Angeles Hella Mega Tour shows.

They finish the show with the talks of the AEW return of one of Wrestling's modern iconing figures, CM Punk, and Josh explains why it is such a big moment for Professional Wrestling.

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Justin:

Nicholas:

Blake:

Joshua: