The panel covers Youngen Ring, the popular opinion of Souls games, and whether we can get Phil Spencer on the show.

Questions this week:

1. Jenna Stoeber asks: What’s the worst (or most out of place) sound effect in video games? (03:44)
2. On its 20th birthday, what are our memories of the original Xbox? (08:46)
3. Aren’t the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Remasters Rockstar’s greatest heist of all? (14:04)
4. Are there some things in video games it took you a while to understand, but you finally get now? (18:29)
5. What will be the Game of Thrones reference in Elden Ring? (21:54)
6. Dirtbag Kiko asks: What are the best and worst moments of horse death in video games? (27:50)
7. How do video games use spite as a motivator? (33:38)
8. Is Bobby Kotick a singular evil dunce, or are all C-level executives this slimy? (38:25)
9. What are the Neuromancer and Snow Crash of video games? (43:26)

Recommendations and Outro (47:31)

Now’s your chance to discuss this episode in the forums!

A SMALL SELECTION OF THINGS REFERENCED:

• Warner Bros. SmashWarners
• Uwe Boll’s In The Name of the King A Dungeon Siege Tale 2: Two Worlds starring Dolph Lundgren
• Pinhead
• Mr. Boombastic
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• Quake II
• Uncharted series
• Shining Force III
• Super Mario Galaxy
• NieR
• Crazy Taxi 3: High Roller
• Gunvalkyrie
• Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
• Malice
• Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition
• Tuff Nut smoothing
• The Rain Thing
• NieR: Replicant ver.1.22474487139…
• Fortnite
• Genshin Impact
• Octopath Traveler
• Red Dead Redemption
• Shadow of the Colossus
• Ico
• The Last Guardian
• The Last of Us
• Halo 2
• DooM
• Counter-Strike
• BloodRayne
• Dark Souls
• Demons Souls for PS5
• Jason Schreier’s Bloomberg article on Phil Spencer re-evaluating Bobby Kotick
• Phil Spencer is skeptical of NFTs
• Phil Spencer calls on industry to support emulation
• #IDARB
• Lost Odyssey
• Neuromancer
• Snow Crash
• K.W. Jeter
• The Sprawl Trilogy
• Burning Chrome
• Bridge Trilogy
• Shadowrun for the Sega CD
• Shadowrun for the Super Nintendo
• Buck Rogers: Countdown to Doomsday

Recommendations:

Frank: Stop tying physics to framerate, stop using The Final Countdown in media

Brandon: Check out Europe’s first two albums, use any Visa gift cards you get at physical locations to get the full value

Edited by Esper Quinn. Original Music by Kurt Feldman.