Video Game Generations

This week, Addie throws honesty out the proverbial window in pretty much every segment of the podcast. She seemed to enjoy herself, and it kept her talking, but don't get too excited when she announces the release of Portal 3.

After a Steam code give-away for Suda51's The Silver Case (fill in the blanks by solving simple show-related trivia questions), we do news, new releases, and email. Email includes Jason's response to last week's question about mobile game genres we need to see more of, and Pawel writes in with hands-on pre-launch impressions of PlayStation VR.

In gaming chat, we talk more about Stacking (Xbox 360) and Wasteland 2 (PS4). My pre-recorded segment breaks records when it comes to the longest pre-recorded segment ever. It starts at around 27:04 and runs until almost the end, a whopping forty-eight and a half minutes. Half of my three-day weekend was spent playing and reviewing Interactive Fiction Competition games, so that makes up the entirety of this oversized segment. In total, there are six reviews, or seven if you count the joke game about toilets. Since it ran so long, I didn't bother preparing a quiz or a new top ten list. Maybe next week.

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Unlike last year and the year before, I actually made time to play some of the entries in the annual Interactive Fiction Competition, which is going on now. This pre-recorded segment starts with a few thoughts about interactive fiction in general and the competition in particular, at around the 36:27 mark. Hopefully I'll be able to include more IFComp reviews as the competition continues. In a later segment, I have ongoing thoughts on Wasteland 2 (PS4). Addie's gaming time was limited over the past week, but she played a lot of Disney Crossy Road.

Early in the episode, after some off-topic updates, we give out the final two codes for free copies of Retro City Rampage DX -- one for Playstation and one for Steam. Like last week, the codes have a few blanks to fill in by answering a few simple show-related trivia questions. Most of them are easy to get just by looking at our prior show notes. If you're the lucky listener to redeem either of these codes, please write in or message us on Twitter so we know.

After news, which includes this week's new releases and the free Playstation and Xbox game line-ups for October, we have quite a bit of listener email. You too can write in and have your email read and discussed on the show. Let us know what you're playing, give us your opinion about some recent happening in the world of video games, or answer one of our prior Questions of the Week. This episode, we ask two new questions. First, has there ever been a game where your opinion changed, for better or worse, based on the opinions of other people after the fact? Second, what kinds of games do you most like to see on mobile platforms (phones and tablets)? Is there anything you feel is underrepresented on mobile? One of our long-time listeners has embarked on a journey to create interesting mobile games, and he's looking for opinions.

Closing out the episode this week is a new top ten list. This time, I'm counting down the most interesting games that were food and beverage product tie-ins. This includes fast food. Any theory on what will take the top spot?

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Free game codes return this week, with a give-away for Retro City Rampage DX on Steam (PC/Mac/Linux/MS-DOS) and PlayStation (PS4/PS3/PSP/Vita). It's just one of each this week. Will you be the lucky listener to solve the puzzle, fill in the blanks, and redeem one of the codes? If not, we're giving away two more codes the same way next week, so be sure to listen!

We talk a little about the annual Interactive Fiction Competition, which is just around the corner. These text-based adventure games are always free and range in quality from great to abysmal, and there's a possibility I may review or discuss some of them during the competition. After that, Addie reads this week's new game releases with her own commentary. Then our one listener email for the week is full of content, including an answer to last week's QotW about games with mismatched elements.

We have no quiz or top ten list this time, but game chat is abundant. My pre-recorded segments include a wrap-up on Recore (Xbox One), short spoiler-free reviews of Gone Home (PS4) and Bound (PS4), a quick update on Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (3DS), and opening thoughts on God Eater Resurrection (PS4) and Wasteland 2: Director's Cut (PS4). Addie's Mobile Game of the Week is Smash Bandits (iOS). Following that, we talk about the two other games she's playing. Those are Alice: Madness Returns (Xbox 360) and Stacking (Xbox 360).

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Occasional guest-host Bill joins us this week for an oversized episode full of game discussions. We relegate most of this to a post-recorded segment that appears late in the show, although it's as long as the main show, so that happens about halfway through the episode. That starts with a new top 10, courtesy of Bill, where he lists out the ways Xbox One has recently gotten a proverbial leg up on the Playstation 4.

This leads into a general discussion about the Sony vs. Microsoft console war (sorry Nintendo; you're not even involved). After this, Bill catches up on several months of gaming, with some talk about Wofenstein: The New Order and The Old Blood, the previous Wolfenstein on Xbox 360, The Banner Saga, Zombi (the PS4 version of ZombiU), Gone Home, To the Moon, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, The Order 1886, The Last of Us Remastered, Life is Strange, The Cave, Costume Quest 1 and 2, Broken Age, and Remember Me.

Our usual segments before that include this week's new game releases, listener email, and a new Question of the Week. Write in and let us know if you've ever played a game that had some element or aspect that just didn't fit. Music that didn't match the tone of the story? Some gameplay hook that just didn't even need to be there? We'll talk about that on a future episode.

Addie's Mobile Game of the Week is Hay Day (iOS). In my pre-recorded segment, I have a wrap-up for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4), opening thoughts on Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice (3DS), and my impressions so far of Recore (Xbox One). We also have a review of Roguelands (PC) courtesy of listener Christian. If you'd like to record a short two or three minute review of a game you've recently played, send it to us in .MP3 format (or whatever) for use in future episodes!

The music at the end includes a few tunes from this latest Phoenix Wright game.

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News for this week includes the PlayStation 4 Pro, the release of PS4 firmware version 4.0, and the announcement of mobile game Super Mario Run. After a long list of this week's new releases (which is made even longer by a tangent discussion about Black Friday), we read this week's one and only listener email. It's about Fallout 4 and Skyrim mods not coming to PS4 after all, and a bit about earning trophies or achievements in games.

My pre-recorded segment is a review of point-and-click adventure Deja Vu II (GameBoy Color), and a partial review of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4). I haven't quite finished this latest Deus Ex, but felt it was time to give more than just surface-level impressions. With luck, I'll wrap it up for next week with some final thoughts.

Addie and I then talk about the recently-released Ghostbusters game again (PS4), and Addie talks briefly about Roblox (PC) and Splatoon (WiiU). This leads into a new top ten list. This week, I count down my favorite point-and-click adventure games, with a few obligatory honorable mentions. This week's ending music is a selection of tunes from Deja Vu II.

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Featured this week are a podcast-related new top ten list, a challenging round of video game "Who Am I?", and a bit of monologue about retro game collecting. First, though, it's the usual segments: news, new releases, and email. News this week includes the free games line-up for September, for PlayStation Plus and Xbox Gold subscribers, which we just missed last week due to recording a few days early.

My pre-recorded segment includes more brief thoughts on Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4), which I'll still be playing a week or two more. Also, I finished Deja Vu (GameBoy Color on Retron5) and Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (PSP on PlayStation TV), so I have reviews for both. Addie's first Mobile Game of the Week for her new iPad is Tiny Tower (iOS). Apparently it's pretty great.

This week's ending music is a selection of tunes from retro classic point-and-click adventure game Deja Vu.

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Despite recording this episode earlier than usual, we have plenty to talk about. For Addie, it's more Roblox (PC), more Minecraft (PS4), and her Mobile Game of the Week, Word Trace (iOS). My pre-recorded segment is a No Man's Sky wrap-up (PS4) and a review of classic 8-bit action adventure game Xexyz (NES). In a second segment, post-recorded and added to the episode afterwards, I have opening thoughts on three more games I started playing. These are Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (PS4), Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (PSP), and Deja Vu (NES).

Eight-year-old Heath, Addie's younger brother, is also back with a new episode of Mini-Gamers. It's episode 13, and as usual, he goes from game to game quickly. Unless I missed one, this includes Tennis in the Face, Headlander, Seralim, Minecraft, Bakugan Battle Trainer, and Armikrog.

In off-topic or tagentially-related discussions, Addie is amazed that people can actually build a PC, I discovered a few DOS 3.5" disk-based games in some old boxes for my collection, I explain Hatsune Miku to Addie, and she recaps the plot of her favorite commercial. Also, a new top-ten list this week is about all the ways that games are easier now than they used to be.

The ending music is a selection of tunes from Xexyz. For such a great game, the music is less memorable and more repetitive than many other NES classics. Still, it seemed appropriate after reviewing the game.

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More off-topic stuff than usual opens this episode of the Video Game Generations Podcast. Part of that is due to Addie's well-intentioned question about my favorite books, which I answer thoroughly; not too thoroughly, though, because I can think of a dozen more favorites I didn't even mention.

After Addie reads the news and new releases, we have plenty of listener email to read and discuss. This includes questions about kids and their attraction to games based on movies and other non-game IP, a Playstation humble bundle, the games our listeners are playing, and answers to last week's QotW about which thing would be more welcomed: reviews or impressions of games outside my comfort zone (fighting, sports, racing, etc.) or more retro game coverage. Our new Question of the Week comes from email as well. As a gamer, how do you keep from getting sore and uncomfortable while playing? Do you have a tip to share? Or is it just a matter of getting up to stretch frequently?

My pre-recorded segment is a final wrap-up on Suikoden II (PS1), and my continued impressions of No Man's Sky (PS4). Addie talks about two games. These are Best Fiends (iOS) and NoNo Islands from Illusion Labs (iOS), the latter of which is her Mobile Game of the Week.

We ran out of time to include my latest top ten list, so we'll try to do that next week. Oh, and if you listen after the music, you might want to check back next week to find out whether or not Addie wins the donut bet.

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We have no quiz or top ten list this week, but in its place early in the show, it's the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine awards! It's a brief off-topic bit where I name DS9's most deserving characters in several categories: most changed, most annoying, most useless, and best acting. Guess which character gets the coveted Wallace Shawn award.

Then we have news, new releases, and email. Christian's android-based mobile game AsteroidDefense has been released. Pawel keeps it brief this week with his thoughts on Murdered: Soul Suspect and Shutshimi. Finally, good friend Bill (who needs to return as a guest host again) answers our recent QotW about favorite Double Fine / Tim Schafer games.

Game talk begins with my pre-recorded segment, in which I have very favorable opening thoughts on No Man's Sky (PS4). Next week, I hope to dive deeper into a discussion on the game's systems and what I'd like to see improved. After that, Addie and I talk about Stacking (Xbox 360) and Ghostbusters (2016/PS4). It's always nice when Addie has more to say about recently played games, but back-to-school could mean that her time will become even more limited.

In a half-formed, open-ended Question of the Week, I'm looking for opinions about what would be a better choice for the podcast: getting back into more retro games for review and discussion (NES, SNES, Genesis), or sometimes leaving my comfort zone and trying out games in genres that usually don't appeal to me (sports, racing, fighting, strategy, and multiplayer-only). Write in and let us know your thoughts on the matter, or for any gaming related reason. Email makes up an important part of the show.

Have feedback? Write to us at
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Find links and show notes at
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Did you know that a limited edition of Unravel for PS4 and Xbox One was recently released in small quantities as a BestBuy exclusive? I managed to get one, only to find out that the box only contains the Yarny figure. It doesn't actually come with the game, which they provide separately as a download code. We already have it digitally, and due to a mix-up in the process, I ended up with two codes. Both are given out in this episode, but as of posting this, the first one is already redeemed. If you're quick, and if you want Unravel on PS4, listen for the second code a short ways into this episode.

After news and new releases, it's our Fall Games Preview segment. It's that time again, when many big new games are scheduled for release in the last few months of the year. At the end, I share my top five most anticipated games coming out this year. Write in and let us know yours! Then, our solitary email this week is a great, thorough answer to last week's QotW about your favorite Double Fine games.

In game talk, Addie talks briefly about the multiplayer mini-games in Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS) and Stretchmo (3DS). My pre-recorded segment wraps up Resident Evil 5 (PS4) after playing the two extra story missions. I also finished Lichdom: Battlemage (PS4), which I review in the same segment.

To end the show, this week's top ten list, inspired by Resident Evil, is my favorite zombie-themed games. This includes a few obligatory honorable mentions. So enjoy, and we'll see you next week!

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