Watch Out for Fireballs!

The story of NieR continues as we build out our party and explore more modes of play. The doldrums of the previous episode give way to some minor delight. The Forest of Myth shows us a text adventure with a cool conceptual hook, while the Haunted Manor is a Resident Evil pastiche. Then we have to do it all again.

This episode covers NieR up through the Forest of Myth, after the time jump.

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Take a look, it's in a book. NieR released with a resounding thud in 2010, neither selling well nor pleasing critics. But since then, it's become a cult classic for people who like experimental narrative and varied play. Nier is a father who is desperately searching for a cure for his daughter's terminal illness. Yonah has the Black Scrawl, and a prophecy about a pair of magical books might be her salvation.

The problem is, the game isn't very fun to play, and while there is some really neat narrative stuff going on (with some very likeable and memorable characters), the juice might not be worth the squeeze.

This first episode covers the generalities of the game, and we go up through Nier's adventure in Facade.

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What do you think of The Sims 3, Donkey Kong '94, and Pathologic? Tune in to find out!

Includes bonus responses for Earth Defense Force 4.1.

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It's the best, most fascinating game you should never play. Pathologic is the definition of a cult classic game. Its adherents will swear by it, while everyone else bounces off. There's a good reason for that: it's one of the best-written games we've covered for the show, and every mechanic is designed to be as unfriendly as possible. For this episode, we follow the Bachelor's route. Daniil Dankovsky is a thanatologist, one who studies death. He's called to a mysterious village on the Russian steppe, which is soon struck by a violent plague that seems to be evil incarnate. Come listen, even if you don't intend to play the game.

We'd like to extend a huge thanks to Matt Carney for executive producing this episode through our Patreon.

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This is a special live episode about the best Donkey Kong game, Donkey Kong for the Game Boy. The game begins as a faithful recreation of the Donkey Kong arcade levels, but after that, the roof flies off and the walls fall away... revealing a puzzle platformer with over 100 levels. This game also expands Mario's move set in an important way.

Really? Just go play it.

Huge thanks to everyone who came out to see us at the Midwest Gaming Classic 2018!

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Do you think life is a game? The Sims, writ large, is a massive series that nobody really talks about as a game. It feels like it exists over in a separate category with MMOs and other perpetual games. But its huge success has hidden the fact that it's incredibly important, and also very very fun. We specifically picked the Sims 3 because of its quality of life improvements, but this episode touches on all of the main Sims games at least a little bit.

This episode is very different from our usual releases. It's almost all generalities and mechanics, but there's lots of anecdotes and weird stories at the end.

Thanks for helping us get to episode 200!

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Links:

• Drew Carey | The Sims Wiki | FANDOM powered by Wikia

• The Creepy, Surreal Apocalypse of The Sims Online

• Winchester Mystery House by amariswiccan - The Exchange - Community - The Sims 3

• Kole Ross on Twitter: "For the upcoming Watch Out for Fireballs! about The Sims 3 (Episode 200!), I wanted to take on a big building project. So I decided to make the mansion and cast from Maniac Mansion. Read the thread!… https://t.co/nAB9pJO86p"

Let's hear what you think of A Way Out, Magicka, and Earth Defense Force 4.1. There aren't very many responses this time, so we hit some belated responses and Just Funnin' as well.

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This game really bugs us. Listen in to find out why... or read this short summary. Earth Defense Force as a series gets a lot of credit for its quirkiness and cheesiness. That praise is earned, but it doesn't paper over repetitive and mediocre gameplay.

The Ravagers are back again, and they've brought Giant Insects, spiders, lizards, and all kinds of nasties with them. It's up to the united Earth Defense Force to fight them off, once and for all. Over and over again. With very little difference between the missions. Forever.

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Links:

• Rampage 2:Universal Tour Intro Playstation One - YouTube

• GeoGuessr - Let's explore the world!

• The Avalanches - 'Frontier Psychiatrist' - YouTube

• Ballz 3D (SNES) Playthrough - NintendoComplete - YouTube

• The World's Biggest Wasp | Bite, Sting, Kill - YouTube

This week, Gary and Kole conjure up some mixed praise for Magicka, a student project turned indie darling. But here's the hangup: while the core idea of this game is unlike anything we've seen before, its execution falls flat at almost every turn. The writing and humor don't add much to the proceedings, and the game is still a technical mess seven years after its release.

So, yeah, the mixture leans pretty heavily toward the negative. Someone make a better game out of this core idea!

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Links:

• Andrew W. K.- I Get Wet - YouTube

• Some Borderlands 2 Humor - YouTube

• Mr Show Taint - YouTube

• Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills - YouTube

• P4 Chapter 2 The Sword Gram and the Dragon Fafnir - YouTube

Ain't no co-op like A Way Out co-op because A Way Out co-op is mandatory. Back in 2013, Hazelight Studios developed a charming and affecting experimental adventure game called Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Five years later, it wanted to continue exploring its pet theme of togetherness, so it created A Way Out.

Following the lead of games like Heavy Rain and Until Dawn, it's a cinematic adventure game with one major gimmick: you must play it with someone else. The story is told in split-screen, and makes heavy use of prison and crime movie cliches to show how two convicts, Leo and Vincent, escape from prison and get revenge on a mutual enemy. It's an extremely funny game, but there's one problem... it's not supposed to be funny.

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Links:

• PS4 - Until Dawn Trailer - YouTube

• The Shawshank Redemption - Trailer - (1994) - HQ - YouTube

• The Boy Official Trailer #1 (2016) - Lauren Cohan Horror Movie HD - YouTube

• The Manhole - Wikipedia

• Casino Royale Movie CLIP - Parkour Chase (2006) HD - YouTube

• Point Break Skydiving scene - YouTube