Tom and Phil are back with final scores for The Witcher III: Hearts of Stone, The Graveyard and Sunset. Phil also gives his first impressions of the recently released Darksiders II: The Deathfinitive Edition and some ongoing commentary on Fallout 4.
First impressions of the Retron 5 as well as some news and Trademark Banter.
Tom Towers could not have said it better.
Lately while using my Netflix adapter, I mean PS4, it vomited out a game disc. You can imagine my suprise. First I had to remember what a PS4 game disc was, then I was more interested in what game I was actually playing 4-5 months ago (Driveclub as it happens).
After the initial shock that my Netflix adapter was capable of playing Playstion 4 games, I moved on with watching I Dream of Wires, a documentary about the development of synthesizers. While listening for the 40th time about the argument over who invented the modular synth scene, Buchla or Moog, my mind drifted back to the half-ejected disc now lying petulantly prone from the Playstation.
Say "Ahhh"
I had earlier assumed the console was protesting my lack of play, "Here, take it! I'm obviously not going to use it". But now an additional, repeating annoying whirring sound was coming from the console (I had assumed, naturally, this was from the synth documentary).
Now alarmed for different reasons, I shut down the PS4 and went online to investigate.
Seems like we have a problem: http://community.us.playstation.com/t5/Consoles-Peripherals/PS4-eject/td-p/42363689 and by "we" I mean myself. Looks like their solution is to send the PS4 back, most likely to be replaced with a refurbished unit. Given the strong late-year line up of the Xbox ONE, this offer would be much more appealing if Sony were to replace my spewing PS4 with the Microsoft equivelent.
Beyond.
Phil Fogg
Tom Towers has had enough, he's broken out and performed a single Game Under Podcast, with zero percent Phil Fogg.
All the better for it I say. Just wait for my revenge.
A new, more boring episode of Game Under Podcast will come later this week, but please do tell us what you think of the solo format, it will enable us to more regular shows if there is enough interest.
- Phil Fogg
So I found this while cleaning up today. It's a box that was used by Konami to ship NES cartridges to distributors.
As everyone likely knows Nintendo limited the number of games a publisher could release each year, so Konami set up a shell company to increase the number of games they could release. Ultra was therefore the "company" that published Metal Gear.
This particular box once carried 24 cartridges of Cyber Stadium Series - Base Wars, which means this box is from 1991, a mere 24 years ago.
I have the game in the collection, and it's not objectionable.
- Phil Fogg
This episode Tom Towers and Phil Fogg discuss Fallout 4, the auteur indie game, Lisa, The Witcher: Heart of Stone, Nintendo Direct an Australian company already using VR and lasertag in an interesting way. Also, Retron 5 vs XBOne, and the ever diminishing craft of writing applied to gaming.
Should have been the default character model.
This is the game Tom could not remember the name of, EA's Future Cop L.A.P.D, apparently a great co-op game. Amazingly, a team of just 35 people made the game.
Hi everyone, Phil Fogg here. In the most recent episode of The Game Under Podcast (Episode 75), I contributed to the body of lore surrounding Adam Orth and his contributions to the very first Sony Santa Monica game, Kinetica.
Tom Towers was disappointed that I had not yet tried the game, which is in my collection and includes a robust instruction manual and art book.
Feeling guilty I tried it out last night, along with a very similar game, Extreme-G XG2 for the N64.
The first thing I noticed about Kinetica, was that it had no online multiplayer, which was pleasantly suprising given Mr. Orth's commitment to always-on internet functionality being something that I had to "deal with". Which is a shame, since this game would have been more enjoyable if it was playable in a multiplayer setting.
Even now, 14 years hence, the menu's and overall introductory art was clear, thoughtful and suitable to the platform, as was the in-game presentation, including the audio design.
The game itself is essentially a mimic of Wipeout (the game, not the TV show). Personally, I'd have preferred a mash-up of both Wipeout's, or at the very least John Henson calling play-by-play for the game, but this was 2001, way before Wipeout revolutionized the form of television into what it has become today (no Wipeout, no Mad Men, no Breaking Bad).
The presentation of the game, in every aspect, is above average, but the inspiration and actual playing of the game is both rote and enervating. Pressing and holding the "X" button for an entire lap while mildly steering is not enjoyable, even on a base level.
It is baffling that Sony commissioned Santa Monica to make the game, when a full-fledged Wipeout was to be released the very next year. Possibly it was a training exercise, or a test of capabilities for the studio that would go on to make God of War and so many other truly original games.
All in all, I can see enjoying this at the time if I were a child with siblings, but even with that condition there were so many more superior racing games available (even futuristic zero-gravity type games).
In case you were wondering, Adam Orth was one of 22 QA testers assigned to the game.
Tom Towers and Phil Fogg give final thoughts and scores for MGSV, Life is Strange, and The Beginner's Guide. Fogg goes alone to score Undertale.
Tom Towers and I will be recording this week, we've both finished up Life is Strange Episode 5 and will be doing a non-spoiler run-through before going through a full spoiler-filled discussion at the end of Episode 75.
If you have not gotten into yet, we both suggest it is worth a look, and will certainly play some part in our Game of the Year deliberations. Available on PC and PS3/4 Xbox 1/360.
We are also both playing The Beginner's Guide from the creator of The Stanley Parable. So far it is meta-tastic.
I'll be giving final score on Undertale, and some first impressions of Super Mario Maker, and I'm sure Tom's got some games lined up as well.
Coming Soon, or Available Now? Make up your mind Sqeenix, a nation awaits Episode 5 of Life is Strange.
This Episode we have Undertale, MGS5 Online, Driver: San Francisco, Shovel Knight: Plague Knight as well as commentary on Horizon, the Killzone franchise, metal gear Twin Snakes, Gaming News as well as the return of our Back o' the Box segment (as stolen by game informer.com).