Patrick and Julian have some very different opinions on this year's E3...
Hey folks! Patrick and Julian are coming at you hot, with a special E3 edition right on the heels of the Microsoft and Sony press conferences! This one is lean and mean, so let's get right to it!
Also, a lot of new hardware announcements.
I think it’s safe to say that the unveiling of the Xbox One a few years ago was one of the most tone-deaf, poorly received debuts of a video game console since, well, Sony commented that people would get a second job to afford their $599 PlayStation 3 all those years ago. Since then, Microsoft has been doing everything in its power to right those wrongs and bring their console up to the user base that the PS4 currently enjoys. This E3 continues that trend and, while there were very few surprises, the Microsoft press conference put the emphasis squarely on exclusive games and community.
Feel the need for Silpheed.
When Game Arts released Silpheed on the Sega CD in 1993, the game was frequently compared to Star Fox; the latter usually winning over critics more than the former. Being released within 6 months of Star Fox and featuring a similar visual theme of polygon graphics, Silpheed was sometimes written off as a mere knock-off of Nintendo’s successful three-dimensional shooter. A somewhat misguided conclusion considering that Silpheed was originally released on the PC platform in 1986, pre-dating Star Fox by seven years. It was also criticized for being too simplistic with its 2D shooter mechanics against the pseudo 3D background. But a deeper look into the gameplay of Silpheed (and some honest hindsight) reveals a game that stands on its own and delivers a fairly unique experience rarely had in home console gaming at that time.
Someone on this podcast is toasted. Can you guess which one?
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants! This week, the Pantsless Ones talk about some Twisted Metal before Chrono Crossing into 2013. We are recording our next episode early, so if you want to participate in the segment for 2012, please comment quickly!
It's all about the RGB, baby!
Welcome to another episode of Nerds Without Pants! This week, the Pantsless Ones jump right into Chrono Crossing. This time, the year is 2014, and the selections may surprise you! We continue to get great participation from our listeners for this, so keep it up!
Indiana Jones made by Steve the Pirate
Uncharted has always been all over the place in terms of quality. The first title is pretty mediocre despite fantastic production values. Meanwhile I consider Uncharted 2 to be one of the greatest video games ever made, a game which I replayed many times and love every second of. Then the PS3 trilogy ended with Drake’s Deception, which offered a fantastic first half and a very inconsistent second half. So it feels fitting that Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End overall ends up as a perfectly satisfactory game. A game with its moments of brilliance, yet never quite manages to bring the product as a whole up in the end.
The Pantsless Ones unveil a new segment!
Welcome welcome, to the first episode of a new era for Nerds Without Pants! We are launching a new segment this episode: Chrono Crossing, wherein we take a look back at our favorite games of each year, beginning with 2015. We kick off this episode with this new feature, and have some great input from our lovely listeners!
"I was hoping to come up with a question by slamming on my desk, Your Honor... I didn't."
I believe you can make a good game out of anything. Pulling off some concepts will be harder than others, but if the right approach is taken, then even the most boring or trite idea can be turned into something extraordinarily engaging and compelling. The reason I believe this is because of my strong love for the Ace Attorney franchise, video games where you play as a lawyer defending clients. Yet these are also games where just tapping “Present evidence” on a touch screen can have me shaking from anticipation and excitement.
And so is this podcast!
Hey folks! Welcome to another technical issue-laded episode of Nerds Without Pants. Apoligies, but once again the internet has conspired against us, and this episode is not up to our normal standard of quality. Hopefully you stick around though, because there is some good stuff in this episode!
Gameplay is king in this gorgeous re-imagining of the original Ratchet & Clank.
I have always had a strong love for the Ratchet and Clank series ever since I first picked up A Crack in Time for my then new PlayStation 3. I fell in love with its creative weapons, excellent sense of humor, and charming world and soon proceeded to blast through the series, replaying most of the titles over and over. When I eventually got around to trying the original game, however, I was quite underwhelmed. It felt like an experiment, a game with a good idea of giving a platforming mascot weapons, yet none of the ideas really came together. The franchise did not really find its footing until the sequel Going Commando with the third title Up Your Arsenal perfecting the foundation and future titles merely adding extra tweaks and polish. So when I heard the first game was getting remade with the modern design choices the sequels provided, I was naturally excited.
