Ep. 211 - George R. R. Binks the Time Sweeper

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.