This week, the Triple Click gang dives into the world of superhero video games. What makes for a good (and bad) superhero game? Why are Batman and Spider-Man such good protagonists for games? And hey, come to think of it, aren't all video games pretty much about superheroes? Plus: a special surprise!

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Alone

Maddy: MultiVersus

Jason: Better Call Saul

Links:

Tom Bissell on Batman: Arkham City: https://grantland.com/features/batman-arkham-city/

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It's time for a NEWS BREAK! Kirk, Jason, and Maddy go through this summer's big stories, from Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar changing its ways to Ubisoft falling apart to the wave of unionization hitting the games industry. Plus: delays, delays, and more delays!

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Prey (2022)

Maddy: Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (PC)

Jason: The Quarry

Links:

Axios story about Blizzard’s new legal strategy: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/01/bungie-destiny-lawsuits-cheaters-harassers

NYT story about Amazon employees unionizing: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/business/amazon-union-christian-smalls.html

Maddy’s review of Spider-Man Remastered on PC: https://www.polygon.com/reviews/2022/8/10/23298573/spider-man-remastered-pc-review-steam-deck-cops-police-nypd-portrayal

Kirk’s article about that lovely Spider-Man text message scene: https://kotaku.com/spider-man-s-text-message-scene-is-perfect-1829449521

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Xenogears? Xenosaga? Xenoblade? Just what is the deal with all of these Xeno-games? In honor of the recent release of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 for the Switch, Jason walks Kirk and Maddy through the long-running JRPG pseudo-series, from giant robots to anime swords.

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Stray

Maddy: Misery (1990)

Jason: Live A Live

Links:

Jason’s Kotaku review of Xenoblade Chronicles 2: https://kotaku.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-the-kotaku-review-1820903229

Autumn Wright’s Polygon review of Xenoblade Chronicles 3: https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23278797/xenoblade-chronicles-3-review-release-date-nintendo-switch-monolith-soft-hero-classes

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The Triple Click triad takes on Battle Royale - which means they’re spilling the beans on the notorious 2000 film, as well as The Hunger Games, Danganronpa, and Netflix’s recent series Squid Game.

CW: More murder than usual, brief discussion of suicide.

Note: This bonus episode originally ran in early December 2021.

An interesting Inverse feature on some of the film’s stars 20 years later: https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/battle-royale-20-year-anniversary

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*It will be Maddy.

(Rockapella voice) Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? This week, the Triple Click gang straps on their magnifying glasses and tries to track down the infamous criminal as well as other "edutainment" games, from Oregon Trail to Number Munchers. What made those old games so special? Can "educational" games ever really work? And what's up with all that dysentery?

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Social Media

Maddy: Dante’s Inferno (2010)

Jason: The West Wing

Links:

Excerpts From: “Isle Thing” by Weird Al Yankovich from UHF, 1989; “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” by Rockapella, 1991; “Theme from The West Wing” by W.G. Snuffy Walden, 1999

Box Art for Where In The World, Where in the USA, and Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

The LGR Retrospective review of Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego (1989) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ln64lo9l5g

Jason on the Get Played podcast talking about Mario is Missing: https://www.earwolf.com/episode/super-mayrio-mario-is-missing-with-jason-schreier/

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What exactly is "Monkey Island" and why is it so popular? This week, the Triple Click gang revisits the old point-and-click adventure series in preparation for the newly announced Return to Monkey Island, which will be out later this year. They talk about the ups and downs of Monkey Island, the incredible music, and how it reinvigorated the genre by showing the world that adventure games do not, in fact, need to kill you.

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Michael Clayton

Maddy: Steam Deck

Jason: Steve Jackson’s Sorcery

Links:

Kirk’s arrangement of Michael Land’s Monkey Island theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf7VQiu1MGo

Tracy Lien - No Girls Allowed https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed

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Kirk, Jason, and Maddy dig into Citizen Sleeper, one of this year's, uh, sleeper hits. Set in a dystopian future full of corporations and depression, Citizen Sleeper is sort of a cross between a visual novel and a life simulation game. The gang talks about escaping digital poverty, the game's unique aesthetic style, and what it'd really be like to have your consciousness implanted into a robot body.

One More Thing: 

Kirk: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Maddy: Patricia Wants To Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Jason: God of War (2018)

Links:

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This week, the Triple Click gang opens up the mailbag and takes some of YOUR questions about all sorts of fun things.  Wouldn't it be nice if games let you turn off all the microtransactions? What's it like revisiting old games with a modern eye? And what are our favorite board games (aside from Candyland)???

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Players 

Maddy: Neon White

Jason: Craps

Links:

BitCulture’s remix of Maddy’s song “Bad Feeling” (feat. Kirk on sax) - https://maddymyers.bandcamp.com/track/bad-feeling-bitculture-remix-feat-kirk-hamilton

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Story or gameplay... WHO WINS? This week, the Triple Click gang dives into an age-old debate and discusses the tension between action and narrative in video games. What does a "video game story" actually mean? What's more important, story or gameplay? And does it even really matter?

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Vampire Survivors 

Maddy: First Kill

Jason: AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES - nirvanA Initiative

Links:

Clint Hocking’s “Ludonarrative Dissonance in BioShock” - https://clicknothing.typepad.com/click_nothing/2007/10/ludonarrative-d.html

Hocking’s 2011 GDC talk “Dynamics: State of the Art” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St2fE049ULI

Kirk’s “Gameplay and Story are Exactly like Music and Lyrics” - https://kotaku.com/gameplay-and-story-are-exactly-like-music-and-lyrics-5885432

Stephen Payne’s excellent Dicebreaker article about ancient role-playing and strategy games: https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/feature/dnd-influences-roleplaying-games-centuries

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E3 is here... or at least it would be, if it hadn't been canceled in January. So instead we have this: a smattering of haphazard events all loosely taking place in June, except for the ones coming later. This week, Jason, Kirk, and Maddy try to untangle Not E3 2022 and talk about the highlights (and lowlights) so far, from Starfield to Silksong.

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Josh Strife Hays’ Diablo loot video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o17lBUZgjTs

Maddy: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Jason: How I Became A Famous Novelist (by Steve Hely)

Links:

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