WackerJr

I wondered why my parents were so excited to give it to me one Christmas, yet none of my friends had ever heard of it!

I’m in a similar position where I’ve managed to avoid all spoilers so far. I got the game as a gift back in July, but haven’t gotten around to playing it yet. I expect you all playing it & talking positively about it will get me to finally get around to playing it! 😀

I hadn’t thought of that but it seems a really good point for those of us that enjoy playing older games. In regards to day one purchases, I very rarely pick up a game on day one. I used to find it really exciting, but now I’m so wary with so many publishers seeming so much more keen to simply hit a date as opposed to getting the game right. One example recently: the XIII remake, still in development for Switch with the original on GameCube. Released recently on other consoles in such a shambolic state that the publisher had to apologise. The apology itself frustrated me though. While they apologised for the sheer volume of bugs, they proceeded to blame it on the pandemic: “Pivoting to home working for the teams has added unexpected delays in the development schedule and the QA process. We hoped we would be able to provide a Day One patch fixing all the issues but the development of this update is taking more time than expected.” If it wasn’t ready then why release it!? To me this reads that it was deliberately released in such a poor state because it could be patched up. If this is the philosophy of publishers now then it puts me off so much from getting something new & exciting on day one. While Nintendo used to be frustrating when it came to delaying games, they often got it right when it came out. Shigeru Miyamoto famously quipped “A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is forever bad”. I’ve always liked this & would like more publishers to have that philosophy nowadays. I still have a number of games to get through so my urge to buy on day one is also incredibly rushed. Thank goodness for my backlog! 😄

Great news! I wasn’t sure what the reaction was going to be on the forum, but so glad to see others excited by this too! While I play the Switch version, I enjoyed the DS game and so pleased to hear about this.

The disdain of gaming discussion was really interesting & good to hear the experiences of others. I used to feel similarly, that gaming was very much looked down upon. I have to admit though, that I haven’t experienced this anywhere near as much as I thought I would in recent years. I’ve had children I coach speak to me about gaming without seemingly bothered that I was an adult, and then I’ve discovered many of the people I work with, coach with, and socialise with, have admitted enjoying gaming. I admit I often find it hard to start a topic about gaming if I don’t know the other people are interested. I did have the whole “well I bet you can’t go a week without playing” on a few occasions. I’ve usually accepted the challenge and after doing so, when asked if I felt better(!?) I admitted that I hadn’t really and in most instances found activities I’d done instead to be less enjoyable. With the popularity of gaming still increasing and it being seen in the mainstream media more (along with stories about prize money in e-sports) I feel the stigma attached is getting less. Sadly from your discussion it’s sad to hear it does still exist.

For the first time in, possibly ever, we’ve actually started planning what Christmas presents to get people in November (as opposed to the December last minute panic! 😃). What we actually do for Christmas or how we see our families is still very much tied into how many people will be allowed in a household. We’re going on the assumption that it will be a maximum of 6, so this will be at least three trips to be able to see all close family members. Nice tree though @Will 👍🏻

I love this idea for a thread @Cube and a few games sprung to mind, including Geist as you mentioned. Great shout on Epic Mickey @Dcubed Pandora’s Tower (Wii) I really enjoyed the Wii game, with the risk-reward concept of getting far enough into a level to still leave you enough time to get back to ensure you could feed your curse-laden companion to ensure she didn’t turn into a monster. That concept alone, along with trying to build a relationship between the characters and your interactions affected this, was engaging. I’d like to see this with HD graphics for starters, mainly to help with actually being able to see items and platforms clearly and not because you’d really see how gruesome a monster Elena would seen to be turning into (although appreciate some people would enjoy that grotesqueness!). Eternal Darkness (GameCube) The story was dark, twisted and clever. Sometimes the psychological effects were really well done. I know that a failed successor, Shadow of the Eternals, was once touted, and that Denis Dyack’s reputation isn’t what it once was, but in the right hands I think there would be enough interest to warrant bringing back one of the GameCube’s underrated gems. Ideally with more & surprising insanity effects to catch players off guard. Space Station Silicon Valley (N64) I loved this quirky puzzle platformer & would enjoy seeing its bizarre but laugh out loud brand of humour make a reappearance. Like virtually all games from the N64-era it looks a little rough now (ok it looked a little rough back then!), but the gameplay of killing creatures to take over their bodies & use their unique skills to overcome puzzles is still very much viable now. There must surely be potential to come up with many more puzzles based on this design. (Plus if it could be released without bugs preventing you from completing it 100% then that would also be handy! 😃).

Wow, so just lead my first couple of Zoom fitness & conditioning sessions for members of our club and I have so much more respect for anyone else that has been hosting / leading any exercise class virtually. It’s a very strange experience when you’re giving instructions but can’t hear anything back, so it’s just your own voice bouncing around a room! I think they went ok though, and everyone was doing the exercises (better than me!) so my demo-ing / instructions must have at least made some sense!

I’m glad to hear about Pikmin 3 in Japan. While I don’t want Nintendo to just continue with ports and not new games, I would like to see them continue with the Pikmin franchise. I was a little worried with news on the low initial UK sales figures (although that was only of physical copies).

I’ve never played the Mass Effect games but heard great things (especially for No.2). This sounds as though it could be the best way to play the series. With the age of the first one, I do wonder if they’ll put more effort into updating it, as I can imagine others that have played it agreeing with @Mandalore that it needs an overhaul.

I’d expect this to lead to more delays to it, although hopefully not if they’d already been absent for some time. It looks the part, I just hope the gameplay brings back some of that Rare flare.

Reading this topic recently has made me remember just how many Wii games I’ve got & am to complete (or even play in some cases!). Disaster: Day of Crisis and Metroid: Other M are two I’m yet to actually start. I really enjoyed Pandora’s Tower, but never completed it. It’s been so long now that I think I’d have to start again and I’m not sure I want to replay all those hours.

Wow that was a epic, but highly enjoyable, listen! Great work to everyone involved. As @S.C.G said, the general format of the podcast flowed really well. Keeping each section fairly short & varied didn’t make it feel anywhere near as long as it actually was. I thought everyone interviewed did really well too, considering it’s not something they /we normally do. Each was different & interesting & was great to see different thoughts, memories, & the passion for those games. Plus no idea that @Will worked for Sega, that was a surprise and enjoyed the story behind his involvement. I really enjoyed the opportunity to take part, thank you. Enjoy a well-deserved break. Even just the huge editing by itself must have been a monumental task, never mind recording the episode on top. Regardless of how many people listen, you all do a terrific job & I got one enjoy listening each week. Judging by comments I’ve received (including family mocking my voice & comments!) there should be a handful of new listeners this week 👍🏻 Shame Fawful didn’t receive more love though 😂😂😂 Well done all!

Yeh I remember playing both and certainly thinking that about the second. I enjoyed them on the Wii, but they were a bit of a Marmite-type game. Still, the boss battles were fun & inventive, although most lasted a little too long. Great to see them get a second life on Switch.

I listened to an interview with Jack Wilshere this evening. I can’t believe he’s still without a club, so he’s been training at his local park. I assume no club would be willing to pay his wages, but surely there’s a bargain to be had, even by a lower league team for a season / until January?

I completely understand the Topic of the Week this week. While there have been a lot of good smaller games, the amount of new (ie., non-port) AAA titles have been few & far between on Switch this year, and last, in my opinion. At least this time has given me more opportunity to start getting through my backlog of titles, as I have a multitude of titles across three platforms to catch up on (Switch, 3DS & PS4). I do think all three of you do a fantastic job, as does Sam when he joins in too. It’s not the easiest thing to keep things fresh each week. I enjoy hearing different, honest opinions, even when any of you don’t feel you have much to offer. As a listener I think all of your opinions are as important as each other, whether you know much about the subject or not. I know I’m just one viewpoint but just wanted to give you that positive feedback. 👍🏻

Darn I sold my copy of TriForce Heroes a few months ago. It can be good fun in multiplayer if you can play with the right people. Online with strangers can be ok, it very much depends on the ability of the others & whether any of you have completed a level before.

Wow. Like others have said, hope you continue improving & get well soon.

The demo is a good idea (I’m a big fan of putting demoes out to give players a chance to try it out). I missed the Treehouse gameplay videos today. Did anything else new come out about the game?

My thoughts exactly. It absolutely deserves to be represented due to its popularity & I do think it will draw interest from people that may not have noticed Smash before. Is it for me though? No. I could draw a huge list of characters I’d love to see. If we’re guessing characters now based on the popularity of their games, well, as Minecraft is No.1, GTA V No.2 (but hasn’t been on a Nintendo console), that brings us to No.3... Tetris. Looks like L-block may be next, @Ronnie will be happy! 😄

Here we go... *Please not Dixie Kong, please not Dixie Kong, please not Dixie Kong...* 😃

The crazy thing is they are appear to be realistic prospects too!

Yeah it’s very much just a basic freebie of a game. Our 3 year-old enjoys it though, although I don’t like that she always wants to do it in 2-player with me & likes going all the way up to 1000! 🙈

While he wouldn’t be my first choice, my money would be on Travis Touchdown. Grasshopper supposedly helped out with Smash Bros Brawl (credit to ‘Did You Know Gaming’) and surely having one of their characters in Smash would be a suitable thanks. I’m just not sure whether Nintendo would be happy with him in their family title. There are a few I’d love to see, but if not Travis then I expect it’ll be either Crash, a Monster Hunter character or Dixie Kong (now I’m just listing characters, hah!). Either way, I enjoy the anticipation of a new character reveal! 😃

I’m sorry to hear that and hope that taking a break does bring back some of your motivation & enthusiasm. I think the three of you do a great job continuing to have done the podcast on a weekly basis, and you do all work well together. The video game industry can be so hit-or-miss with weekly news & information (even more so during the pandemic) that it can’t be easy to fill that 1-2 hours of talk, yet you’ve all continually managed it. Take a break and hopefully you’ll be wanting to return to it soon.