jimquisition

Podquisition 213: A No Deal Christmas

It's almost Christmas time, so enjoy that. We also talk about Gris, Below, Pokemon battlin' and other stuff.

Special thanks to "Ned Reid" for letting us use his wonderful 8 Bit cover of "Messing With The Best"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe1M5lNe1wE

The Spin-Off Doctors: Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

There was a very brief period of "nerds are cool now" in the late 2000s and early 2010s. We all got over it pretty quickly, but boy did it make for some poorly dated films.

Anyway, here's a movie about a bad human being getting everything he wants. 

AAAdvertising (The Jimquisition)

Capcom has decided to embarrass Street Fighter V with ads, or "sponsored content" as they're calling it.

Today, let's talk about that, give a brief history of product placement and ads in games, before having a bit of a whinge about the potential future of ad-support videogame garbage.

Asking Sterling (A Patreodcast) #6

Time for another round of questions! Either you're asking a ton or I'm spending too long answering them because HOO boy we're still not done with the last round of questions. 

Enjoy hearing about mental health, indie games, and DLC. And loads more, obviously! 

Asking Sterling (A Patreodcast) #5

Hoy there, small fry! Time for another Q&A where I answer questions what you gone and asked. Lots of discussions here, forgive the manic energy I got going on, but hopefully it's an entertaining listen. 

Be on the lookout for question posts! Remember, this isn't it. We have separate posts for question gathering. 

Podquisition Episode 212: Long Live The Sonic Flesh

We need to talk about Sonic's horrifyingly muscular legs. 

Also, Smashed Brothers, BioWare, Street Fighter V ads, and other things! 

The Hex - Simply Hexcellent (Jimpressions)

Following Pony Island must be an intimidating prospect, but Daniel Mullins Games has managed to craft an amazing game in The Hex, a game I very nearly missed!

Combining multiple genres and examining the relationship between game and audience, The Hex is a poignant, witty, cleverly written adventure spanning six protagonists and six very different - but smartly cohesive - stories.

The Cowardly Crimes Of Dastardly Denuvo (The Jimquisition)

The problem with piracy is the measures employed to combat it showcase utter contempt for the paying customers.

This is something Ubisoft once directly acknowledged, before tanking the performance of Assassin's Creed Odyssey with a double layer of DRM.

Denuvo, meanwhile, is embraced by the game industry despite a laundry list of problems and failures. Let's look at why Denuvo is rubbish. 2018-12-10 14:58:24 +0000 UTC View Post

Super Smash Bros Ultimate - Smashmouth (Jimpressions)

It is Smash Bros. Ultimate and everyone is here! Here is what I think about it, even though you already know what YOU think about it and you're just looking to have your thoughts confirmed.

What do you want from me? It's Smash Bros. I like Simon and Richter Belmont best. Inkling is fun. Isabelle is quirky. Ridley is tough. K. Rool is K. Rool.

It's all good, friends! Except when it hates yo...

Just Cause 4 - The Sandbox Is Full (Jimpressions)

Just Cause 4 is another Just Cause game, and that's okay if you like that sort of thing. I theoretically should like that sort of thing, but the game repeats itself and lacks escalation.

Plus, it's time for the industry to admit that maybe the open world genre is overly crowded and that if you're not going to give a game an obscene budget, a smaller scale might work better.

Podquisition Episode 211: Rise Up

We live in a society! Let's rise up together for an episode that discusses more Fallout nonsense, The Binding of Isaac card game, and the PlayStation Classic! 

The PlayStation Classic - Bare Minimum Plastic Tat (Jimpressions)

The PlayStation Classic is bad. Well... it's okay at what it does, it's just what it does is a bit pants.

The physical system looks nice, it functions just fine, but it suffers from a weak selection of games and an equally weak presentation.

Sony just wasn't really very bothered about making it good.

Asking Sterling Questions (You Can Ask Me Questions Here, Friend!)

It’s bloody time for another bloody round of Asking Sterling, but I need to be asked things so I can answer them! This is where you, my lovely patrons (and this time *only* patrons should be able to do it) can do an asking and I’ll do an answering.

Ask whatever, and I’ll get them tackled in an upcoming Patreodcast!

Below Expectations (The Jimquisition)

We've all heard the story. "AAA" game comes out, "AAA" game is a critical and commercial success, "AAA" game disappoints its publisher for failing to meet expectations. 

When you pull back and see just how often this dance is performed, it paints the picture of a panicked and desperate industry, a rotten swan kicking its decaying legs frantically across a poisoned swamp. Because that's what...

Red Dead Online - Red Dead Transaction (Jimpressions)

Red Dead Redemption 2 has launched the beta for its online mode and Red Dead Online is... fun? It's quite a lot of fun actually, but it's let down by stingy payouts and the shadow of microtransactions.

Gold bars are a grind and cash comes at a pittance. The core of the game's a laugh but it's so discouraging without premium pricing that I don't know how much time I want to spend in it.

The Spin-Off Doctors: Pixels (Our Final Pixelscast)

The best thing about yearly traditions is when they end. This will be the final word on Pixels, as we produce our third podcast about Adam Sandler's masterpiece. 

Podquisition 210: Take Me Home, Canvas Bag

We had to talk about the Fallout 76 canvas bag scandal. Also, more Pokemon, more mockery of Bethesda, and some sad dissection of Darksiders III.

Darksiders III - DarkSoulsSiders (Jimpressions)

REUPLOADED TO CORRECT A MISTAKE, SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE!

Darksiders used to be a damn good copy of Zelda. Now it's a damn awful ripoff of Dark Souls. Yet another game that doesn't understand why the Souls series is successful, THQ Nordic's heartbreaking Darksiders III annoys and exasperates at every turn.

On top of that, it's a stripped down sequel, thoroughly reduced in scale compare...

The GAAAmbling Problem (The Jimquisition)

Ubisoft, by way of a PR rep, has defended loot boxes after people found them distasteful in Trials Rising. They hammered through both usual and unusual excuses, and did so in a way that truly offended my senses. 

AAA publishers are not just riding this gravy train into oblivion, they're actively lying and insulting our intelligence to justify it. And as problem gambling is on the rise, the ...

Podquisition Episode 209: Pokemon Is Late Stage Capitalism

A podcast of two halves, almost. Jim and Laura talk Pokemon Let's Go, then Jim and Gav dump hard on Fallout 76. The whole gang joins in for in-game gambling though. 

Battlefield V - Battlefield Fine (Jimpressions)

Here is more Battlefield for you. It's Battlefield V, and it's perfectly fine. It's fine. It's absolutely totally fine. If you want another Battlefield, this is another Battlefield for you! 

Six Times Bethesda Was Massively Incompetent (The Jimquisition)

Bethesda has created some of the most enduring power fantasies of our time, and there's a good reason why The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is a game that refuses to die. 

However, Bethesda isn't known for stable experiences, or welcome decisions, or not screwing up in massive ways. 

With Fallout 76 coming out and being rubbish, let's look back at some of the notorious goofs from a com...

Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee - Mellow Yellow

Pokémon Let's Go is a streamlined Pokémon experience, merging elements of Pokémon Go with Pokémon Yellow. It's not going to be for everyone, but I must confess I've not been this into a Pokémon game since Pokémon Red, way back when I was a ruddy boy.

Just a shame the motion controls Nintendo forced in wreck it for a lot of people.

The Spin-Off Doctors: Castlevania Season 2

Netflix is back with more Castlevania. Twice as long, and ever better, so let's get into it! 

Podquisition Episode 208: Take Me Home, Country Roads

So how about that Fallout 76? I should point out, this podcast was recorded after only a few hours with the game, before your old pal Jim was utterly sick of it. Expect a more generous appraisal here, and that's saying something, because this appraisal isn't generous at all! 

Elsewhere, Pokemon Let's Go, a bit more Red Dead Redemption 2, and some o' that Spyro!

Fallout 76 - Nuclear Waste (Jimpressions)

It never seemed likely that Bethesda was capable of handling an online Fallout game, and the dreadful mess that is Fallout 76 only validates one's cynicism. Which is fine, because Fallout 76 is, itself, a cynical game.

A cynical game that barely works.

Lifeless, archaic, and featuring a totally mangled VATS system, this desperate trip on the Live Services bandwagon is an utter waste of tim...

Asking Sterling (A Patreodcast) #4

Time for more questions that I answered! You asked, I answered them. That's how it works. 

Spyro Reignited Trilogy - Relight My Fire (Jimpressions)

Spyro Reignited Trilogy is out, which means nothing else matters. A rarity, in that it's an Activision release without a nasty predatory catch, Spyro is a ton of fun and it's held up incredibly well!

The Diablo Immortal Backlash Fun Parade (The Jimquisition)

Diablo Immortal was announced to an audience that ranged from apathetic to furious, as a mobile Diablo game turned out to be exactly what Blizzcon attendees didn't want. 

Activision Blizzard couldn't have read its audience worse if it tried, and now we're in a perpetual backlash machine as angry fans and exasperated pundits go back and forth, tearing each other apart. 

In this br...

Podquisition Episode 207: Fuck You & The Horse You Rode In On Simulator

The Quiet Man gets eviscerated like it deserves, Gav has more troubles with Red Dead, and HAPPY DRUMS GAME!