In honor of Grim Fandango’s long-overdue return, we decided to base this week’s Top 5 around games influenced (however loosely) by Mexican folklore and its vision of the underworld — and we approach the topic with all the sensitivity and respect you’d expect from four suburban white guys. Moving on from there, we talk about Dying Light, hear some shocking voice samples from a forgotten Bomberman, and take a look at what your ideal current-gen remakes would be.
Now that we’re in a (still just) brand-new year, we’ve got 11 whole months of cool new games to look forward to, many of which will probably get bumped to next year. Best not to think negatively, though, so this week we take a look at the five games we’re most excited for this year. After that, there’s some talk about Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Gat Out of Hell and the Resident Evil RE-master, some wild speculation about a new Indigo Prophecy, and a look at the 2015 games you’re most looking forward to.
We’re back with our first show of 2015! Aaaand it’s about 2014, as Bob Mackey and Michael Grimm join the show to help us talk about our favorite villains of last year. After that, there’s some (very brief) new-release talk, a meandering discussion about newly resurrected DOS games, and a look at your favorite games of last year!
Before Mikel, Chris, Tyler, and Dave all left for the holiday break, they attempted to record one last show: a festive holiday special about their Top 5 Santas. It didn’t go as planned. This was the audio file we found after they’d disappeared, and it finally lays to rest any questions raised by the strangeness of recent VGA host breaks. Listen at your own risk.
This week’s show marks our last “real” VGA for 2014, so following last year’s established tradition, we’re going out with a countdown of our 10 favorite games of the year. Which ones will make the cut? After we find out, it’s on to some new-releases talk about Elite: Dangerous, an unexpectedly heated debate sparked by Hatred news, and some of the old movies you’d like to see made into games.
The longer a tie-in game takes to come out after the movie it’s based on, the better it tends to be. By that logic, the five games in this week’s Top 5 — which all adapted movies that came out at least two decades before — must be AMAZING. Then it’s on to some chatter about Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, Suikoden II, the PlayStation Experience, and the games that made you cry.
Who says games can’t make you cry? As the Bay Area shifts from a yearlong drought to winter monsoon season, it seems like a perfect time to make things awkwardly personal with a Top 5 about the games that made the hosts choke up and shed a tear or two. Just a little. In a totally manly way. After that, we take a look at the last big game releases of 2014, the Assassin’s Creed Victory leak, and the stories you wish you could change.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in America, meaning everyone’s blowing off work so they can gorge themselves while cooped up in pressure-cookers of familial loathing and resentment. We’re no exception, so in honor of the noble sacrifice of the walking-bird (or “turkey” to non-Simpsons fans), we’ve invited Retronauts host Bob Mackey to share in a short, Top 5-centric show about our new favorite genre: the “walking simulator.”
Everyone loves “what-if” scenarios, and games are a great way to explore them, particularly when it comes to alternate views of world history. What if, for example, two warring, medieval secret societies had survived to spread their influence across the world? What if World War II had been fought by anime teenagers? These and other questions are answered by the games in this week’s Top 5, followed by some talk about Grand Theft Auto V (again), Far Cry 4, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and WWE 2k15, and a look at the franchises you got sick of first.
The holiday game-release season is in full swing this week, with headliners that include two Assassin’s Creed games – one of which inspired a Top 5 about our favorite interquels. After that, it’s on to a discussion of AC Unity and Rogue (as well as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Valkyria Chronicles), before moving on to Overwatch, Just Cause 3, and the best lies you’ve ever been told about games.