Video Game Generations

It's the end of an era, but maybe the start of something new. This version of the Video Game Generations Podcast will come to an end in two weeks, with episode 150. Addie is old enough now that her priorities have changed, and Heath isn't quite old enough to take it seriously, contribute in a meaningful way, or even just sit still for an hour. The future is uncertain, but I hope to keep the podcast alive in some form. I may do occassional episodes that are entirely made up of my pre-recorded reviews for multiple games, or maybe we'll do a bonus special episode once in a while. The goal, though, is to put the current format on pause for some period of time, until Heath is old enough to make it work. Of course, that assumes he'll still want to, when that time comes.

He's here this week, and probably next, but Addie should be back for episode 150. If you have email or voice mail (using our SpeakPipe link or by sending your own .MP3 file) for our "final" episode, be sure to get it to us by May 22nd, prior to our recording on May 23rd.

It's a shorter episode this week, because I'm still not finished with Persona 5 (PS4). I talk a little about it this week, but I'm saving most of my thoughts for the review. News consists of this week's new game releases. Then I read an email regarding the differences in walking simulators, Dreamfall Chapters impressions, and the PSVR-compatible game GNOG.

My plan for this week's feature segment is a little rushed, but it involves Game Informer's top 100 RPGs of all time in their latest issue. I mention just the ones I played until reaching the top 10. I had intended to say more about each game, but by that point in the show, Heath was too restless for that.

The password for this week's addition to the Steam codes page is given out very late in the episode. Five games have been added this week, and as always, the first first listener to redeem them gets them. Up for grabs are Sudeki, Jurassic Park: The Game, Candle, Guardians of Victoria and ZombieCarz. Quite the eclectic mix.

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May the Fourth be with you! It sure wasn't with us, in our first attempt to record on the usual night. I thought it would be a good idea to try dual co-hosts with Addie being unavailable, so Tuesday night, both Heath and Hadleigh sat with me in what I can only describe as a fiasco to end all fiascos. Stay tuned after the ending music for a few select bits from that first attempt. The rest of those painful twelve minutes will most likely remain unreleased, since there was a good amount of yelling, complaining, and silliness in general.

In our second attempt, Heath and I stick to the plan. Without a well-intentioned sibling for him to argue with and complain about, it went better. I talk a little about last week's emails to follow up on a couple things, and then we do the Steam code give-away for Child Phobia: Nightcoming Fears and Her Story.

After news, new releases, and the free Xbox and Playstation game line-ups for May, we talk about what we're playing. I skipped Persona 5 this week, even though I put a lot more time into it. We start with my pre-recorded review segment where I talk about Late Shift (PS4) and What Remains of Edith Finch (PS4) -- spoiler-free reviews for both of them. Then, we talk about Heath's first experience with Virtual Reality (VR) last weekend, and a few games he's playing. These include Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch), C.A.T.S. - Crash Arena Turbo Stars (iOS), King of Thieves (iOS), and more. It's mainly just a brief mention of each.

This week's feature is something a little different. Because I've been in an "interview" mindset lately, I decided to interview Heath for the open (and entirely made-up) "gamer" position. Questions include trivia/facts, personal preferences, and more. Some of his answers surprised even me.

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Something weird happened with the audio for this week's podcast. I use a Polycom speaker phone currently (maybe now's a good time to get a real mic), and something was wrong with it this time. Maybe the handset wasn't on right, or there was an issue due to prior use that caused some distortion and feedback or something. The problem wasn't evident until listening back and editing, so the entire episode is like that. Luckily, the noise removal feature in Audacity helped quite a bit, making the audio a little more robotic and hollow but taking care of most of the distortion and background static. You may still notice it, especially if listening with headphones, but all things considered, it could have been a lot worse.

Plenty of new game releases make up this week's news segment. After that, we read several really great emails from listeners. Topics include Double Fine's Amnesia Fortnight, a Double Fine display at the game exhibition in Hamburg, the Nintendo SNES-Mini rumor, the portability of digital downloads on the Nintendo Switch, and what happens when the online servers for games are shut down. That last topic was supposed to be more about the lack of fanfare when the Disney Infinity servers were taken down, but I somehow manage to turn it into a rant about online services in general, and my fears about digital-only content and game patches when current-gen and last-gen servers are eventually shuttered.

It seems I'm nowhere close to finishing Persona 5 yet (PS4), or Syberia 2 (PS3) for that matter, so I talk a little about both games, but without a pre-recorded review segment this week. In particular, I talk about the small-scale criticism about P5's English translation, and my thoughts on the puzzle design in S2.

Addie talks a little about Little Alchemy (iOS) and Clash Royale (iOS), with me asking questions to better understand what she's playing. Then in our final segment, I count down my personal Top 10 List of the games released this year (so far) that have already hit my ever-growing backlog. The point here is to maybe provide some insight on a few games I'll be playing and talking about in the weeks to come.

Steam codes given away this week are Dexodonex, Operation KREEP, and Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2. If you're the first listener to enter this week's password (given out during the show) into the box near the bottom of our website's main page, you can redeem these codes on Steam. It never hurts to check, even if you're a few days late. Sometimes, the codes go unclaimed longer than you might expect.

Have feedback? Write to us at
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Heath fills in for Addie once again in this week's episode. The neighbor's lawn mower fills in as an annoying bit of bad luck. We don't have a sound-proof recording studio or anything, unfortunately, so I apologize in advance for the droning buzz that can be heard through most of the show. At least my pre-recorded segment, with a spoiler-free review of Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4), isn't affected by that.

In this episode, I rant about YouTube's cryptic "inappropriate content" complaint about one of our recent episodes, which resulted in its removal from YouTube. Even after disputing it, an uninformative and unhelpful cookie-cutter response was the only result. Since our content doesn't actually voilate their content policy, and no specifics were given, it's impossible to continue uploading to YouTube because I have no idea what the issue was. As a result, we're no longer on YouTube. My first thought was the ending music in that episode (from Blaster Master Zero), but I generally only include stuff that others have set a precedent by uploading already. Even so, a "copyright strike" is an entirely different thing on YouTube, so the specifics of what went wrong may forever remain a mystery.

After news and new releases, I include my previously-mentioned pre-recorded review. We had no email this week, which may have been for the best, since Heath was very anxious to move ahead into game discussion. Much of his gaming time has been spent on the Nintendo Switch, so he talks a little about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch) and Snake Pass (Switch). Most of the discussion is about Lego City Undercover (Switch), which prompts us to talk about collectibles and completion percentages in games.

This week's Steam code give-aways include Puzzle Agent, Puzzle Agent 2, and The Silent Age. The ending music is the Mass Effect: Andromeda title theme.

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Game code give-aways have been streamlined (even though you wouldn't know it from my lengthy explanation in this episode). Instead of solving clues and filling in the blanks, just listen for the password each week, and enter it in the box near the bottom of our main page (www.vggpodcast.com). This week, we're giving away one copy of Christopher Brookmyre's Bedlam and a copy of Lichdom: Battlemage, both on Steam. Plus, last week's codes are still available, as far as we know.

Addie doesn't have much to say about the Xbox Scorpio announcement, but I share my thoughts during our news segment. After that, she helps me with this week's list of new game releases. In email, I talk more about the Mass Effect: Andromeda faces/animation controversy (a topic that comes up again later in my pre-recorded segment), math, and Pawel's thoughts on Psychonauts and Blackwood Crossing.

Also in my pre-recorded segment, I give first impressions of Thief Town (PS4) and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PS4), plus a brief update on my progress in Syberia II (PS3) and Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4). Being busy as usual, Addie played very little and doesn't really have anything to add. In fact, this episode may be a bit more monolouge-y than usual.

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This week's free Steam codes are for Just a Cleric, Just Bones, and Monster RPG 2. As always, if you're the first listener to fill in the blanks using show-related clues, you can redeem one or two or even all three of these on Steam. Sometimes the codes don't get redeemed for days or weeks, so it's always worth checking them out, just in case.

This week's news is a recap of April's free PlayStation Plus games, and the games releasing this week for various platforms. In email, listeners share opinions about several games, including Limbo, The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, Guacamelee, TellTale's Batman, Night in the Woods, and L.A. Noir.

Blaster Master Zero (Switch) gets a review in my pre-recorded segment. After that, Addie talks a little about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch)

and I Love Hue (iOS), which is her Mobile Game of the Week.

Without adequate time to prepare, we have no top ten list or quiz this week. But we do have some Blaster Master Zero music. The show ends with the title theme and a sampling of early level music in all its retro-inspired glory.

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Even though it's still March, I think Addie considers this our April 1st episode. Rather than spoil anything, I'll just leave it at that.

After news and new releases, an email from Pawel gives us a chance to talk briefly about Addie's role as co-host. Nothing is decided, and she's here for now, but the time may come when it's just me and Heath, as Addie's priorities change with school, friends, and various other activities and interests. The same email also gives me a chance to disagree with him about Horizon: Zero Dawn.

I have a brief update on Blaster Master Zero (Switch) and opening thoughts on Mass Effect: Andromeda (PS4). In my pre-recorded segment, I review Nier: Automata (PS4). After that, Addie has a short game review of her own. Then, in a new quiz, I challenge her to name the exclusive gaming platform (Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo) associated with each of sixteen iconic game characters. Bonus points are awarded if she can name a game featuring that character. Listeners can play along too.

Steam game codes given away this week are Time Mysteries: Inheritance Remastered and Broken Sword 1: Director's Cut. As always, the first person to fill in the blanks using simple show-related clues (the answers to which can be found at our website) gets one or both of these free games.

The ending music this week is the amusement park theme from Nier: Automata.

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Find links and show notes at
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Addie's back, but it's our shortest episode ever due to limited prep time and Addie getting a bit sick. I have no pre-recorded review segment this week, but I talk a little more about Blaster Master Zero (Switch) and my opening thoughts on NieR: Automata (PS4). Addie's gaming time was spent mainly on the 3DS with Stretchmo and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, but she also played a bit of Castle Crashers (Xbox 360) with Heath and Hadleigh.

In email, we talk about the ways we relate the similarities in games, losing cohesive storytelling in open world games, and the possibility of Horizon or Zelda copycats after the recent success of those games. That's after news and new releases.

Two Steam game codes are given away early in the show. These are Poker Night at the Inventory and Poker Night 2. If you're the first listener to solve the simple clues to fill in the blanks, you can redeem these PC games on Steam. Last week's Steam codes may still be available too, since I haven't received word yet that they're redeemed (as of this posting).

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Heath returns again to guest-host in Addie's place, due to yet another scheduling conflict. We're trying to get things back on track, though. Next week, the plan is to return to our normal Tuesday night recording, with Addie back on the show. Somehow, the show runs longer with Heath. Keeping him focused on the subject at hand has been a challange.

This week, we talk about the upcoming PLAY Collective games on PS4, this week's new releases, more on the Nintendo Switch and upgrading your memory card, listener feedback about Horizon: Zero Dawn, and thoughts on recent events involving the co-host of a much more popular podcast.

In my pre-recorded segment, I give opening impressions of Blaster Master Zero (Switch) and a review of Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4) -- without spoilers, of course. Heath talks briefly about everything he's playing, including Super Bomberman R (Switch), Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (PS4), Tearaway Unfolded (PS4), Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Switch), and Snipper Clips (Switch).

In this week's top ten list, I count down my favorite 80's movies, but with one constraint. I choose movies that also happened to have an associated video game. This excludes many of my 80's favorites, but those are mentioned in a lengthy honorable mentions section.

Two Steam game codes are given away early in the show. These are Rest in Peace and the classic puzzle-platformer Limbo. If you're the first listener to solve the simple clues to fill in the blanks, you can redeem these PC games on Steam. And finally, the ending music this week is from Horizon's title theme. Enjoy!

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In a surprise twist, Addie had a second scheduling conflict on our alternate recording night, so younger brother Heath fills in as a guest host. It looks like next week will also be one day late, before we're back to our normal schedule of releasing on Wednesday, but at least Addie should be back to her regular hosting duties then.

With Heath here, though, we talk about the Nintendo Switch late in the show. We share our thoughts and early impressions of the new handheld/home hybrid console. Heath talks a little about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and I try to steer him clear of anything that might be a spoiler. Before that, my pre-recorded segment is a few opening thoughts on Horizon: Zero Dawn (PS4). I'm saving a more in-depth review of the game until I finish it, hopefully by next week.

For this week's new game releases, Heath tries to guess what each game is about. There's some confusion, though, because at one point he thinks he's supposed to predict what it is without even hearing the title. After that, email dominates the show in what's probably this week's longest segment. Of all the weeks to get a whopping five emails from listeners -- some with questions specifically to Addie -- it's the one week she isn't here. Topics are interesting and varied, including recent movie recommendations, how we recommend games based on similarities to other games, a different take on Horizon: Zero Dawn, a recommendation for Super Mario 3D Land (3DS), what age is right for kids to start learning games with more advanced mechanics, the paradox that is game developer Spiders, and a mini-review of the recently-released game Night in the Woods.

This week's Steam game give-away, early in the show, is for TellTale's The Wolf Among Us. Solve the clue to be the first listener to redeem and win the code.

Have feedback? Write to us at
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Find links and show notes at
http://www.vggpodcast.com