Game Under Podcast Episode 82

This week Tom Towers and Phil Fogg talk about Oculus pricing, games they picked up over the break and give some final thoughts on games played in, and released in 2015 in anticipation of our Annual Awards Show (the Gundies).

We give scores and final impressions of Yakuza 5, Grow Home and The Order: 1886.

Thanks for listening.

Oh and, there have been three "easter eggs" in the last four co-hosted shows.  If you find them let me know.

This is my Yakuza 2 Bundle (Bought all this stuff on the same day back before Yakuza 2 was available in the West.

This is my Yakuza 2 Bundle (Bought all this stuff on the same day back before Yakuza 2 was available in the West.

DS Styles Might Change

So a couple of years ago I attended what our US audience would know as a "county fair" and what our Australian audiences would know as a "Show".  I don't know what our Belgian or UK audiences know these things as, but basically is an economic opportunity for travelling "carnies" or carnival workers who construct amusement rides to collide with local aspiring artisans and children forced to produce arts and crafts by their state-sponsored day-care workers/ educators.

In any case, I came across this "mural" depicting what may occur in fifty years time.

Which I found to be equal parts profoundly stupid and chuckle worthy.  The key point of interest to me, of course was that this child's concept that in fifty years "DS styles might (I emphasise MIGHT) change.  Which I found to be enduringly charming.  But, on reflection the comment, "The movie Garfield 2 might not be a popular movie anymore" clearly indicated a parent who may have been doing said child's homework.  No child could have come up with that on their own, and if they did, they can guest host on the next Game Under Podcast.

Total Win. 2016 Is Looking Good

So rarely these days I get to write about collecting games or game related items, which for many years was a constant refrain of my video gaming communiques.

On vacation over the last couple of days in a moment of random happenstance, (is there any other form of happenstance?), I strolled into a boutique used-game store, even though I knew that everything they have is ridiculously over-priced as in, $70 AUD for loose, non-rare NES games. So as I dodged recently pregnant siblings, who decided the best place to hold new babies upside down by the heel and measure them was in an over-priced retronomics store, I came across the below:

Yes. You see where this is going.

Yes. You see where this is going.

That's right, I saw a SEGA Mega Drive Master System Converter. For the ill-informed and millennially-impaired, I will briefly explain that SEGA once made hardware that played games.  Their first foray into the home market was the SEGA Master System, which while superior in everyway to the Nintendo Entertainment System, was a commercial failure.  As a concession to their stillborn system, they made an adapter that allowed their next hardware, the Genesis (or Mega Drive as it was known outside of North America), to play games from the now-dead Master System.

This relic was not particularly valuable in the game collecting world, as Master Systems could easily be picked up for $12-$20 for many years, and so I never bought one, since it was easier to actually accumulate four fully functional Master Systems without even particularly trying.

Enter the Retron 5.  Now that this incredible contraption makes playing old games easy on HDMI televisions, the converter has become greatly valued, usually anywhere from $120 to $250 on Ebay.

So in this store, I see one. For $60.  I wave over the owner.  He says, "Ah yes, you don't see many of them, I've sold and re-bought that unit twice."

I said something like, "Okay, yep, I'll take it."  I paused to ask, "Um, all my games are NTSC (US) carts, will this work?"  He motioned to put the adapter back in the glass case and said, "NO!. This won't work with NTSC, won't work, needs to be Australian games..." and then in a moment of apologetic anti-patriotism added, "...PAL, PAL games, will only work with PAL games sold in Australia".

I looked at it again, with the $60 price tag, and now with my significant other walking into the store, said, "I'll take it, it will work with the Retron 5."  Not wanting to admit his ignorance he paused momentarily and said, "Uh, yeah, okay, well, it won't work with American games".

So cutting short my vacation I took it home, plugged it into the Retron 5 with a copy of Outrun and found that it did indeed work. It worked with that, R-Type, Alex Kidd and everything else. And while that is likely the last time I will use it, I felt like I had won.

 

Game Under Podcast Episode 80

Tom Towers returns for our 80th episode where we discuss new releases Yakuza 5, Pro Evo Soccer MyClub and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Along with Trademark Banter, where Phil gives some pro-call centre tips, we also have a few features including a discussion about works that eclipse their source material.

Thanks for listening.

Game Under Podcast Ep. 079

Phil Fogg fights back (rather enimically) with his own 30 minute solocast.  In it he disses Valve, gives impressions of Prison Architect and Blues and Bullets and waxes nostalgic on how The Game Under Podcast began.

Thanks for Listening.

Does Phil Fogg really live on a compound? Or is this real city view?

Does Phil Fogg really live on a compound? Or is this real city view?

Game Under Podcast Ep. 078

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.

Thanks for listening.

Tom Towers could not have said it better.

Tom Towers could not have said it better.

It Only Does Everything

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"

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

Game Under Podcast Episode 77

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.

Thanks for listening.

- Phil Fogg