We're gonna run this franchise into the ground, like any good horror movie!
Hello, boys and ghouls! It’s nearing the end of October, which means it’s time for the annual Halloween Havoc edition of Nerds Without Pants! We have some fun discussions in store for you, so let’s get right to it.
Half of this episode is missing, too!
Gah! What the hell happened? Well, Julian will explain, but basically, this edition of Nerds Without Pants is problematic. Wait, that’s not the right phrase. It’s plagued with problems. Lots of problems! To quote The Doctor: “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” Hopefully you power through the audio issues, because we have former PixlBit Features Editor Jesse Miller to talk about missing in action games. Please be gentle in the comments; Julian agonized over this one.
Our bag of holding is full to bursting!
Welcome back to a regular episode of Nerds Without Pants! That’s right, we’re here with Stage Select, Consumption Junction, AND special guest Joey, AKA Superstep. Oh, you lucky people!
A little NWP is better than no NWP, amirite?
Welcome to a slapdash special edition of Nerds Without Pants! Scheduling and tech woes have kept us from recording a proper episode, but instead of leaving our wonderful audience high and dry, Julian has cobbled together this impromptu resurrection of Digital Mystery Tour, our failed video game music podcast from...4 years ago? Sheesh. Anyway, we hope you enjoy!
You can learn a lot about people from their pet peeves...
Welcome back to Nerds Without Pants, dear listeners! And welcome back Stage Select to our normal format! We thought it would be a few more episodes before we’d be able to bring it back, but phase two of the NWP 3.0 beta is in full swing. As such, it’s a lengthy Stage Select, followed by a tiny bit of Consumption Junction. Hey, baby steps.
Oh, Electronic Arts, you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you?
To say that EA is having a bit of a problem with public perception would be a massive understatement. In the past year they have come under fire for predatory micro transaction practices, cancelled a highly anticipated Star Wars game, stated that single player games are a dying breed, and shuttered yet another well-regarded development team. Their lackluster E3 presentation didn’t do much to help matters. Sure, EA is doing gangbusters as far as sales and revenue, but they have burned up so much good will with their customers that it’s easy to see a scenario where they find themselves in a tough position, relying on their yearly Madden and FIFA games to keep them afloat. As someone who has a complicated relationship with their brand, I have some ideas on how EA can win players over, and move strongly into the upcoming next generation.
Come for the 80s homage, stay for the Saints Row shenanigans.
It’s no secret to the people at PixlBit that I am a huge fan of the Saints Row series. The last two games are among my favorite games from the last generation, and I eagerly await the next chapter in the increasingly bonkers tale of the Third Street Saints. In the interim, I am certainly interested in Agents of Mayhem, a spinoff of Saints Row that seeks to blend the over the top humor and gameplay from that franchise with the character and special powers of squad based shooters like Overwatch. After playing the game at E3 I am still interested, but I also have some concerns.
Kame...hame...
I got into Dragon Ball Z at the age of 15 thanks to some bootleg VHS tapes I found at a collector’s show in town. I was hooked right away, and as someone who was already obsessed with fighting games I would often dream of Capcom developing a DBZ game. Instead of that happening, I had to contend with sluggish, unresponsive Dragon Ball fighters that ranged from terrible to decent, but failed to capture the magic of the anime in total. Now we have the upcoming Dragon Ball FighterZ from Guilty Gear developer Arc System Works, and if my time with the game at E3 is any indication, my dream is finally going to come true.
Trippy doesn't begin to cover it.
One of the stand out games for me at the Microsoft E3 press conference was a unique little indie game called The Artful Escape. The papercraft graphics and emphasis on jamming on an electric guitar made me think of some heady melding of Gitaroo Man from the PlayStation 2 and last generation’s indie darling Journey. I knew it was one to watch, and I was happy to be able to try it out on the show floor.
I made a terrible mistake coming here.
Welcome to our next (an likely final) special from E3 2017! Angelo steps out of the woods and hasn't heard a speck of E3 news, so the bulk of the show is Julian filling him in on everything he's missed. Enjoy the hilarity as Angelo reacts in real time to the Xbox One X, that odd Shadow of the Colossus remake, and the announcement of not one, but two new Metroid games.
