Episode 118 - No Man Is An Island

Just another day in the Euclid Galaxy. No Man’s Sky screenshot.

We’re happy to welcome video game streamer Jason Plays (@jasonplaysnms) to discuss, among many topics, our mutual love of No Man’s Sky. We talk about its notorious debut in 2016, rebound in 2018 and how it continues to grow in 2023. We also look about the free update strategy employed by Sean Murray and Hello Games, is there a method to their updates and things like Expedition events and what the future holds for the game and studio.

The podcast was recorded on the same day that Microsoft announced their highly-anticipated exploration game Starfield was not coming out in the spring as many expected, but is now coming out in September 2023.

There’s also chat about some of the other games Jason has been playing recently, including Hogwarts Legacy and Atomic Heart, which I tout some smaller games on the Switch from the last year that I’ve been waiting years to play, the grifting game set in Revolutionary France Card Shark and Sports Story, the long-awaited sequel to Golf Story.

The show concludes with a discussion of terrestrial radio, which Jason worked in before becoming a full-time streamer. How did radio stations cope during lockdown and has the fight against things like podcasts, streaming music and satellite radio meant radio as we knew it in the 20th century will never be the same again?

Jason was a great guest, so we hope he’ll come back on the show in the future, maybe when Starfield debuts later this year.

Episode Ninety-Two - Dream Catching

Rey Cometa and Espirtu Negro.

We are happy to welcome The Cubs Fan (@luchablog) back to the pod for the annual post CMLL Anniversary show under very unusual circumstances to say the least.

First off, there’s a match-by-match breakdown of the show, including discussing the matches that did not take place, either due to injury or COVID-related illness. Which matches were exceeded expectations, which did not and how did the luchadors that getting a chance to shine in the spotlight fare on the night?

Then, we discuss how lucha as a whole has dealt with the pandemic in Mexico. Who has been able to run shows, how have the wrestlers coped with no income for months now, how have the promotions and officials taken care of them (or not)?

Next, with voting still taking place at time of recording, we examine all the lucha candidates on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot. After the logjam in the lucha category was thinned out last year, how do the prospects of old and new candidates look for the likes of Los Brazos, Caristico and others?

We end the show with some quick postseason baseball chat, with the playoffs Astarting tomorrow and a discussion of the next generation video game consoles. Is it worth getting a new PS5 or Xbox Series X at launch?

Also, we are hoping to very soon launch a new project on the website that may or may not have a podcast component to it. Keep an eye on the website and Twitter for details.

Thanks for listening.

Episode Ninety - Paper Mache, Confetti and Kings

Animal Crossing in action (or is that inaction).

We welcome GameXplain’s Andre Segers (@andresegers) to the pod for the first time to chat about past, present and future of some video games.

First up is the new Paper Mario game, The Origami King. It’s a spoiler filled discussion, so if you haven’t finished the game yet, this section starts around 03:10 and goes until 22:36. We discuss the story, the characters (old and new), the bosses, the game play, the music and how it compares to past games in the series, including the loved Thousand Year Door and no so loved Sticker Star.

Then, we talk about the phenomenon that is Animal Crossing. Just how was this the perfect to be released when the world was sequestered in their homes and how even Andre’s mom became an AC player. We talk about the updates, Andrew recreating a movie scene on his island, the ennui that sets in after playing daily for months and what might the future hold for the game. For context, we recorded the show the day before the August update came out.

We discuss the next generation of consoles, did the recent trailers from Sony and Microsoft really make either of us want to get a Playstation 5 or Xbox Series X at launch and what if anything is coming for the Switch the rest of 2020.

We close out with some retro gaming talk, including reminiscing about the Nintendo 64, Sony Dreamcast, text based game and getting Japanese imports. Andre also talked about the upcoming 200th episode of GameXplain’s Real Talk podcast. Check out @Gamexplain on YouTube for much of what we talked about on the pod and more.

Episode Seventy-Eight - Authentic Frontier Gibberish

Why yes, my RDR2 Online character is Dum Dum Dugan.

Only a few months late, we finally do an episode about the greatness that is Red Dead Redemption 2. And to share in our joy, we welcome in YouTube gamer Tag from @TagBackTV. We start off by discussing the new updated Online mode, which finally went live officially a few weeks ago: what is new, what did they fix, what did they not fix yet and what is coming in the near future and maybe down the line. There’s also chat about RDR1 vs RDR2 and what we both preferred about each game, including story, game play, free roam and the beauty of Monument Valley. We also discuss the ins and outs of being a full-time YouTube gamer. Do you get to play games for fun? What happens when a game you like doesn’t get enough views and a game you don’t like does? Also, the frustrations when a video gets copyright claimed and how that can disrupt plans. We also mention what’s coming in the future that might be worth checking out and what recent title turned out to be a major disappointment. Be sure to check out Tag’s channel (TagBackTV) for daily RDR2 videos, live streams and more.

Also, thanks to everyone we chatted with at the TMPT3 Convention in Richmond. It was cool to catch up with some friends from Virginia and chit chat with some of the wrestling legends from 1980s Jim Crockett Promotions. Hopefully, we lined up some future podcast guests while talking about King Curtis Iaukea, Gino Hernandez and Phil Hickerson, among other folks from the past.