jimquisition

Allegations, Exploitation, And The CEO Who Dreamed Of A Porsche (The Jimquisition)

Aeon Must Die! looks like a terrific game, and I always like to pay attention when Focus Home Interactive publishes something. Attention is something this game has a lot of, and not in a good way.  

Limestone Games, the studio behind the game, has been accused by former staff members of crunch, exploitation, abusive behavior and outright crimes. This blew up before Sony's recent Stat...

WWE 2K Battlegrounds - A Trash Game For A Trash Brand (Jimpressions)

2K has another bad wrestling videogame to ruin your day, but this time it's made of cartoons! Following last year's disastrous 2K20, WWE is back with 2K Battlegrounds.   

And it's rubbish.   

Limited, repetitive, and stuffed with a grinding microtransaction economy, WWE 2K Battlegrounds is worth playing only if you love WWE but aren't too fond of yourself.  ...

Podquisition 299: Monopoly Cowboy

It's a wild west, rootin-tootin', individual ownership of property adventure on this week's show.

Games we played this week include:
Spelunky 2 (6:10)
Super Mario 3D Collection (15:10)
Astroneer (22:25)
Fall Guys (24:45)
Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning (30:00)
Paradise Killer (31:35)

News things talked about in this episode:
Apple lawyers call out Epic lawsuit a...

A Video About Playing Videogames From Terrible Companies (The Jimquisition)

I'm often asked how one can continue enjoying videogames published by exploitative, harmful corporations. In truth, there is no "ethical" way to do it, not if you're trying to avoid giving money to scumbags, but I'll help you try to feel better about it!  

Really though, a lot of the dilemma involved in buying a game from Ubisoft or Activision can be solved with one simple attribute ...

Podquisition 298: A Relatively Nice Time

We had a relatively nice time with video games this week.

Games we played this week include: Fall Guys (10:30), Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 (16:00), Paradise Killer (21:20), Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning (32:45), The Last Campfire (39:55), and Spinch (42:45).

Podquisition 298: A Relatively Nice Time

We had a relatively nice time with video games this week.

Games we played this week include: Fall Guys (10:30), Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 (16:00), Paradise Killer (21:20), Kingdoms of Amalur Re-Reckoning (32:45), The Last Campfire (39:55), and Spinch (42:45).

Kingdoms Of Amalur: Re-Reckoning - Re-Reviewing A Remastered Re-Release (Jimpressions)

Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a pretty basic remaster of a game that could have stood to see more improvements. It's not terrible, but Amalur shows its age despite some convenience overhauls.   

Still, the action RPG holds up really well, still looks nice, and boasts that excellent character building system that encourages a ton of experimentation.  

I Really, Really Hate Ubisoft (The Jimquisition)

I make no secret of my biases. My preferences and aversions are pretty well known, but some feelings just can't be worn on a regular sleeve. In other words, I cannot express my contempt for Ubisoft enough.   

The company just doesn't stop - has never stopped - giving us grim things to talk about. As a basic videogame publisher, Ubisoft is among the slimiest, but the abuse and ou...

Podquisition 297: Tiny Lego Train (with Special Guest Tanya DePass)

Tanya DePass joins the crew to discuss Marvel's Avengers, No Straight Roads, and Ubisoft's latest nonsense. 

Check out Tanya at cypheroftyr.com!

Marvel's Avengers - Earth's Crappiest Heroes (Jimpressions)

It may have the powerful Marvel license behind it, but make no mistake - Marvel's Avengers is just another forgettably mediocre "live service" waste of time.   

A lifeless, colorless, utterly humorless take on the Marvel universe, Avengers' overall sloppiness and visually horrendous presentation doesn't help.

And on top of that, Square Enix has the audacity to feature Micr...

New Generation, New Nonsense (The Jimquisition)

We're fast approaching a new generation of consoles, and we don't even know what they'll cost or when they'll come out. But we DO know that Sony might allow you to preorder one from them if you're very good.   

As we hurtle toward next-gen in a year where people literally don't have money, we're already drowning in total nonsense. Because this is the game industry - straightforw...

Podquisition 296: Alexander Candlebum

A musical gets a wax-based controversy. A senator refuses the charitable call. Also, Spiritfarer, Fall Guys, and No Straight Roads. 

Fuck Fortnite (The Jimquisition)

Incredibly brave and heroic, Epic Games continues its fight to #FreeFornite against Apple's oppressive tyranny. That is definitely the whole story.   

The corporate scrap between Epic and Apple is a story of freedom and sacrifice. That is, the freedom of Epic and Apple to sacrifice every innocent bystander caught in the ruckus. Oh, and Google is involved, but nobody cares about ...

Battletoads - The Game That Wants To Be Every Game (Jimpressions)

Battletoads is a game with a very small attention span. One moment it's a brawler, the next it's a bullet hell shooter. When you finally get a handle on it, the thing becomes a rhythmic runner game.   

Those hoping for a brawler will be disappointed. There's plenty of combat, but Battletoads is never in a hurry to get to it. It's too busy hurrying toward a dozen other shiny obje...

Podquisition 295: Scary Astronaut

Astronauts are scary. Also we have Fall Guys, Mortal Shell, Rad, Spiritfarer, and all that nonsense between Apple and Epic.

The Marketable Genius Of Fall Guys (The Jimquisition)

You have to give credit where credit's due, and in terms of commercial videogame success, Mediatonic's Fall Guys deserves a nod.   

It helps that I'm really enjoying the game, but I'm also genuinely quite fascinated at what a perfect storm of marketability Fall Guys is. There's a reason this game has exploded the way it has. In fact, there are multiple reasons.   

Podquisition 294: The Giant Robot Bollock

A gigantic robot bollock. Also, Fall Guys, Marvel's Avengers, loads and loads of indie stuff. And Control being stupid about next-gen.

Muscles Of The Apocalypse (The Jimquisition)

The Last of Us Part 2 is a neverending nightmare of discourse, and the outrage hasn't stopped. By far the most absurdly controversial aspect remains Abby, a character whose existence has been offered up for debate by weirdos.   

Abby's swole build has been called into question by a bunch of boys desperate to erase anybody who doesn't fit into their tiny idea of what "real" women...

Podquisition 293: Swamp Crotch Gulch

We ponder the hard questions asked of Westworld. Also, we talk about Fall Guys, Frog Fractions 3, and things Conrad Zimmerman played.

Fall Guys - An Indictment Of Human Selfishness (Jimpressions)

Fall Guys is an entertaining game that shines a grimly colorful light on just how self-destructive our self-service can be. Crabs in a bucket, people!   

While it has some issues - mainly from a monetary perspective - Fall Guys is a great blend of battle royale and silly physicality evocative of shows like Takeshi's Castle.  

Also, I'm the best at it because I watched...

The Hypocritical Wokeness Of Ubisoft (The Jimquisition)

For years, Ubisoft performed a progressive lie, broadcasting its "wokeness" while abusive predatory executives claimed women can't sell.   

Today's video looks at that hypocrisy, the hypocrisy that Ubisoft has indulged in for perhaps its entire existence. A public pantomime of inclusivity, and a private culture of hate, harassment, and outright assault.  

Grounded - The Spiders From Arse (Jimpressions)

Grounded is yet another survival game, but the shrunken conceit it hangs itself on carries the otherwise generic formula surprisingly well. At least when there aren't any spiders around.   

Seriously, forget about arachnophobia. Scary or not, these spiders might be some of the worst things to be found in a videogame. In fact, every creature this game boasts is a complete jerk. &...

Destroy All Humans - A Great Remake Of A Fun, Unfunny Game (Jimpressions)

Destroy All Humans is a good laugh, though it fails when it tries to make you actually laugh. An entertaining sandbox of alien weapons and flying saucers has been improved with this 2020 remake's welcome overhauls.   

Hellpoint, however, is a mediocre and rubbish videogame. Just saying. 

Podquisition 292: Queasy

Just because someone's feeling queasy that doesn't mean we can't talk about games. 

Nintendo Fans Love To Troll Themselves (The Jimquisition)

Nintendo fans are prone to becoming upset very quickly, and I believe it my professional impartial duty to say that their distress is entirely their fault.   

An industry fueled by perpetual hype is a problem in and of itself, but some fanatics need very little prompting to set themselves up for major disappointment. In fact, some of them need literally nothing.  

So,...

Paper Mario: The Origami King - Justin Loves The Mario Man (Justinpressions)

Hello, I'm Jim Sterling. I didn't ask him to do this, but Justin did his own video about Paper Mario: The Origami King because I couldn't be bothered. So this is what he thinks about it!  

Podquisition 291: I'm Not The Prince Of Wales

Sometimes we need to remember that we are not royalty in the Regency Crisis. 

Elsewhere, we discuss the latest horrors of the game industry, as well as Ghost of Tsushima, Paper Mario: Mr. Origami Man (mild spoilers at 54:00-55:00), and something else that I forgot. 

Ubisoft Spent Years Protecting Mental And Physical Abusers (The Jimquisition)

This is another heavy episode containing discussion of abuse. A few weeks ago, I was distraught, devastated, and overwhelmingly saddened by the accounts of misconduct in the game industry. Now I am angry.   

I am very angry, and very disgusted, and I've saved a lot of pent up rage for Ubisoft, a company that went above and beyond in its protection of predatory men and systemic e...

Ghost of Tsushima - Serious Samurai (Jimpressions)

Ghost of Tsushima is a very fun samurai game, and if that's what you want, then Sucker Punch has you covered. If it's not what you want, then who even knows what to say to you?

Visually breathtaking, mechanically pleasant, Ghost of Tsushima is just supremely enjoyable. It features some open world busywork, but the beautiful setting and delightful mix of stealth and honorable combat make f...

Podquisition 290: Mad As Hell

Angry crew in this one, friends.