Video Game Generations

With the Nintendo Switch releasing tomorrow, we combine a history lesson with this week's top ten list to bring you the ten best launch games on Nintendo consoles. They're ranked based on the one best game per console launch, so a weak launch might still rank highly if it included one stellar title. That's up late in the show.

Before that, email includes feedback about last week's list of hypothetical game character cross-overs, Gravity Rush 2, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, and a preemtive Nintendo friend request for when Mario Kart releases on the Switch.

News includes this week's new game releases (half of those being Switch launch titles) and the free games line-up for Xbox Gold and PlayStation Plus. In gaming updates, Addie has very little to say about what she played (Splatoon on Wii U and The Last Tinker on PS4). My pre-recorded segment includes a wrap-up for Nioh (PS4) after I managed to finish it late last week, and a spoiler-free review of the Portal-inspired first person puzzle game The Turing Test (PS4).

Steam game codes given away this week are The Last Tinker: City of Colors and S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl. Listen for that early in the episode and solve the clues to be the first person to claim the codes on Steam. The ending music this week is from a hidden radio in The Turing Test.

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Topics from email this week include Sort the Court from Ludum Dare 34, Picross 3D, Broken Age, Nintendo's current place in the console wars, and the recent absence of video games featuring Disney princesses. We have no news this week (although the Xbox Games With Gold for March were announced and I forgot to include them), but plenty of new releases to talk about.

Addie's gaming time has still been very limited. She started over in The Sims Freeplay (iOS), and that's about it. My pre-recorded segment is more ongoing coverage of my time in Nioh (PS4), which is starting to throw some really tough late-game bosses at me.

Inspired by last week's question about video game crossovers, this week's top ten list imagines games where an important character gets replaced by a different character from some other game, leaving that character to invade a different game, and so forth. What crossovers would you find most interesting?

Steam game codes given away this week are BoneBone: Rise of the Deathlord and Insurgency. Listen for that early in the episode and solve the clues to be the first person to claim the codes on Steam.

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We haven't been without a top ten list or a game/quiz in several weeks, but the streak is broken. Hopefully we've made up for it in the other segments, including email topics that cover last week's QotW about mid-generation console updates, the next game from Spiders, PS4 remote play using Playstation TV, and video game characters stumbling into a different game's world. Before all that, we have the usual news and new game release segments. And before that, even, listen for more codes given away for a Nioh PS4 dynamic theme and some Walking Dead games on Steam.

My pre-recorded segment this week is all about Nioh (PS4). I haven't finished it, and I'm likely not even half-way through, but I cover quite a bit more than last week. We also talk more about Borderlands 2 (PS4) from The Handsome Collection, after Addie decided to try it out in split-screen co-op with her brother and me. Addie's Mobile Game of the Week is Color Switch (iOS). She also talks about another tough-to-describe mobile puzzle game called Paper.io (iOS). After looking at it post-show, it seemed kind of like a blockier multiplayer version of Qix, at least in its basic concept.

This week's ending music is from the Nioh title screen. Next week, more Nioh talk (if there's anything left to say), and it'll be our third of five weeks recording on Wednesday evening for a Thursday release. We're almost half-way back to our usual schedule of a day earlier.

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This episode starts a five-week span where we'll be releasing on Thursday instead of the usual Wednesday. After Addie's volleyball season is over, we should be back to the normal schedule.

After all the usual segments (including my thoughts on mid-generation console updates in response to an email, which is also our Question of the Week), I talk about what I've been playing. This includes a pre-recorded spoiler-free review of Resident Evil VII (PS4). Addie hasn't had time to play anything again this week.

I count down some of the best crowdfunding/Kickstarter success stories in this week's top ten list. After that, we have codes for two more games on Steam, courtesy of Bill, which happens very near the end since the games up for grabs kind of relate to the top ten list. To wrap up, this week's ending music is the safe room song from Resident Evil 7.

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We have a plan for working around Addie's volleyball schedule. Starting next week with episode 135, we'll record one day late (Wednesday) and release on Thursday. After five weeks of this, we should be back to our usual Wednesday releases in mid-March with episode 140. So just a heads up on that.

After three more Steam code give-aways, news and new releases, we have several emails from listeners to share. This includes many suggestions for family-friendly tech/geek/game podcasts, thoughts on the Nintendo Switch as it relates to the more mainstream consoles from Sony and Microsoft, a suggestion for a new top ten list for a future episode, another reaction to a prior top ten list, and thoughts on TellTale's Batman and the cult of Pokemon (disclaimer: not a real cult).

In game chat, I talk a little about the split-screen co-op I played with Addie's brother Heath this weekend (Perfect Dark Zero backwards compatible on Xbox One, and Borderlands 2 from The Handsome Collection on PS4). Addie played nothing, or so she says, so all that's left is my pre-recorded wrap-up on Gravity Rush 2 (PS4). It's a great game with a time-consuming platinum trophy I haven't quite earned yet.

This week's "top" list is a follow-up to another recent top ten. This time, it's my top 13 video game tropes that would be horrible in real life. This was a lot of fun to discuss. Addie believes she may be living out one of these tropes for real. The show wraps up with the title theme from Gravity Rush 2. And don't forget: next week begins a five-episode run of posting one day late.

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Two more games on Steam are given away, scavenger hunt style, in this week's episode. From the looks of things, we have Steam codes to last a long time. Then after the news, Addie helps out with this week's new game releases in a segment you might consider Alternate Facts. In email, we learn that last week's top ten list about video game abilities I wish I had in real life was a hit, and we talk a little about what influences us to buy any new game console. That's our question of the week for listeners. Write in and let us know what you look for when deciding if a brand new console is right for you. For instance, are you getting a Switch?

Addie talks about Call of Duty 2 split-screen again (Xbox 360) and AdVenture Capitalist (iOS). My pre-recorded segment is a partial review of Gravity Rush 2 (PS4), or, if you prefer, my lengthy opening thoughts on what I've played so far.

This week's top ten list is inspired by Pawel's list from last week's email. This time, I count down my favorite 1000 gamerscore or platinum trophy in games, with the longest list of honorable mentions ever -- thankfully relegated to the post-show outtake section.

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A big topic this week is the Nintendo Switch. Addie missed the details we've been getting lately about this upcoming hybrid handheld/home console, so it's mainly me filling her in on the launch line-up, future releases to be excited about, and more. We also go over this week's new releases.

Email returns in a big way, with comments and questions from new and long-time listeners alike. To answer one, we need your help. Can you suggest and recommend any other family-friendly podcasts that would be suitable for listening when kids are around, such as for a long commute? It doesn't have to be just video games. Anything tech or geeky works too. Movies? Comics? New gadgets? Let us know, and we'll share the suggestions on our next episode.

In other email, it's a duo of top ten lists. Bill writes in with the top ten games he missed in 2016 but hopes to play this year. Pawel includes his top ten favorite platinum trophies earned, in an email that also includes The Last Guardian, made-up languages in games, and the odd things we notice regarding voice acting in games.

Addie talks about what she's been playing, which is The Witness (PS4), Call of Duty 2 split-screen (Xbox 360), and A World of Keflings (Xbox 360). My pre-recorded segment includes a Gravity Rush Remastered wrap-up (PS4), a brief update about Phoenix Wright (3DS), and my review of a cult classic last-gen action RPG called Nier (Xbox 360). This week's ending music is from Kaine's theme in Nier. Such a great soundtrack.

Late in the show, we have a new top ten list of our own. This time, we talk about the seemingly mundane or standard abilities that video game characters have that would be awesome if they were real. There's even an honorable mention!

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Free game codes return this week, with Broken Age on GOG and Eidolon on Steam. They're one-use codes, so the first listener to redeem them gets them. Let us know via email or Twitter if you redeem one or both. There are plenty more to come over the next few weeks, mostly for games on Steam. If you have an OUYA, though, let me know, because I also have a Broken Age code on OUYA you can have.

There wasn't any email this week, but we have news, new releases, and a long-dormant Time Travel segment where I correct and revisit a few things from last week's huge year-end wrap-up episode. This leads into my top ten list for the week, in which I talk briefly about the games from 2016 I didn't play, but hope to in 2017.

Addie's Mobile Game of the Week is Bowmasters (iOS). In two separate pre-recorded segments, I review The Fall (PS4) and Gravity Rush Remastered (PS4). The ending music this week is from Gravity Rush. It's the old town theme, from the game's first area, and it somehow reminds me of music from Ni No Kuni!

Our feature this week is a new quiz for Addie. Rather than just list off the twelve categories and ten winners of the 2016 Steam Awards, I make a game of it for Addie. I tell her the game and the award it won (one real, one fake), and she tries to guess which is which. It's informative and fun!

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Wow. What a year! Don't believe the naysayers when they complain that 2016 was a poor year for video games. It was superb. Fantastic. Incredible. So many wonderful games came out in 2016, and in this episode, we remember many of the very best. And the less-than-best. And a ton more.

First, though, it's our usual segments, including the free PlayStation plus offerings for January, and listener email. Email includes another audio recording from Christian, thoughts on how the podcast has changed since our early episodes, the games our listeners are playing, whether TV and movies should factor into understanding a game's story, whether trophies and achievements should factor into game reviews, and listerners' top games played in 2016. There's a lot to discuss here.

In game updates, Addie talks about Rolling Sky (iOS), I have a pre-recorded wrap-up for VVVVVV (3DS/Vita), reviews of Battlefield 1 (PS4) and Titanfall 2 (PS4), and Bill recaps everything he played in 2016. I should have mentioned earlier that part-time third chair guest host Bill joins us again for this oversized year-end wrap-up; and oversized it is. We should be back to a normal hour-long show next week (give or take), but this week you're getting a show that's two or three times longer than usual. We know that's a big commitment, but we think it's definitely worth your time. So many games. So much chat!

Our features this week include lists of our favorite games of 2016, which includes games released in 2016 as well as games from a prior year we played in 2016. Mine is actually two separate lists, with part of it in a pre-recorded segment due to a large number of honorable mentions. We also talk about our 2016 disappointments, our most anticipated games of 2017, a tally of our successes and failures from our 2016 predictions, and a new batch of gaming predictions for 2017.

We have tangents, disagreements, and yeah, plenty of game chat. Plus, Heath talks about his favorite games of 2016 in Mini-Gamers episode 16.

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In our last episode of 2016, most of our usual segments are absent; no news, just one new release, and no new email this week. I do have impressions of the Assassin's Creed movie, so there's that.

Addie talks about Ms. Splosion Man (Xbox 360) and Escape From Adventure Island (Wii). My pre-recorded segment includes a short review of VVVVVV (3DS - also free on Vita with PlayStation Plus this month), although I haven't finished it yet. After that, I have a much longer review of Final Fantasy XV (PS4), without any story spoilers. It's yet another reason why 2016 has been a great year for games.

Following that is a new top ten list, combined with a quiz for Addie. I list ten common elements from the Final Fantasy series, and Addie tries to guess what each one actually means. We wrap up with some reflection and fond memories of the year in gaming, but a more complete year-end wrap-up and 2017 look-ahead will be next week, when Bill joins us for episode 130.

The ending music this week is straight outta Final Fantasy XV's in-game car radio. So with this final episode of the year done and out, there isn't much time left to send us your own thoughts on the year in gaming. Let us know what you enjoyed, what disappointed you, what surprised you, and your favorite games of the year!

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