Hitpoint Pals: Recent Episodes
Hitpoint Pals
Once a week, the Hitpoint Pals meet to discuss video games, the things we play on our televisions. Follow us on our new feed, Motion Picture Pals, at www.motionpicturepals.com
Episode 40: Join us for our season finale as we reflect on the year of podcasts we did. Will has a big announcement, and some tough questions, like, "What if you went home to encounter a four foot version of yourself?" We also share our new year's resolutions and intentions, and give a small preview of what's to come from all of us at Hitpoint Pals.
Mentioned: Lego Star Wars, Skyrim, Robin Seplut, Devil May Cry, The Witcher, Las Vegas, Gamer energy
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Episode 39: On our penultimate episode of the year, Travis and Will have a game shoutout for AI Dungeon 2, an experimental text-based adventure that uses a database of choose your own adventure stories to respond to anything you say or do. Then we do some shoutouts for our favorite games of the year, including Sekiro, Resident Evil 2, and Ape Out. After a Dark Souls diversion, we take some time to reminisce over some of the decade's biggest Gamer Moments.
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Mentioned: AI Dungeon 2, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Resident Evil 2, Ape Out, She was About to Blow My Dick
Episode 38: Life is Strange 2 spoilers from 25:25 - 37:10. We begin with a declaration from Will that he is a born again Christian and things only get less pious from there. But first Travis and Will recap their experience watching the Playstation Awards, a Japanese broadcast translated on the fly and often indecipherable, to us but mostly to the stream chat. Meanwhile Rebekah has been playing Stardew Valley and finally learns how to fish! We give an indie game shoutout to split screen puzzler DYO, which makes use of the local co-op seam as a mechanic. And in recent game releases, Travis has nothing but praise for the way Life is Strange 2, Episode 5 interprets morality and culminates into a perfect ending shaped by your choices.
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Mentioned: DYO, Parsec, Steam Remote Play, Life is Strange 2, The Call of the Wild (2020), Messiah, Deacons of the Deep, The Christ Centered Gamer
Episode 37: The crew speaks with members of Rebekah and Cam's D&D group on the finale of their campaign, and their takeaways from a story that lasted two years. Then we talk about a few games we've been playing, including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, GRIS, and Betrayer. Before we can wrap, we get in some offhand mentions of Sonic the Hedgehog, and Cats.
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Discussed: D&D, Jedi Fallen Order, GRIS, Betrayer, Sonic, Cats
Episode 36: Travis has been enjoying the satisfaction of positive feedback and repetitive tasks in Death Stranding, which we only discuss in vague terms since Will is eagerly awaiting the 2020 PC release, and doesn't want the game spoiled. But we fully discuss Caleb's time in Luigi's Mansion, where apparently Luigi looks really, really good. Also, Will has been playing narrative adventure The Council, a mystery game set in the Victorian era that gets real occult real fast. And we can't resist determining our Kojima names with Polygon's handy 11-page Kojima Name Generator, which raises questions about our current states of being as well as our childhoods.
Discussed: Figure out your Kojima name with my simple, 11-page worksheet (Polygon)
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Discussed: Death Stranding, Luigi's Mansion 3, The Council, Kojima Name Generator, Dubhacks, The Mandalorian, Red Dead Redemption 2
Episode 35: The divisive auteur theory changed the way we critique films, and could go on to impact the way we talk about video games as well. There are many figures known for their collective works as video game directors and producers, but is Hideo Kojima spearheading a new brand of gaming auteur, for better or for worse? That's our topic this week, which explores auteur theory and how it could apply to video game creators as much as filmmakers. But first, regular check-ins: Travis who has been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Outer Worlds. Rebekah fills us in on becoming a professional dungeon master! And William discusses polygonal architecture. At the end of the episode, linguistics of the internet, and why boomers use so many ellipses.
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Discussed: Red Dead Redemption 2, The Outer Worlds, Unity, The Internet, Hideo Kojima
Episode 34: What do you do when your service corgi gets swept down a storm drain and into the creepy tunnels beneath the city? Will fills us in on that journey in the lo-fi horror game Lost in Vivo, which he enjoyed a lot. We then try to determine whether or not ghosts are real and share some paranormal or just plain odd encounters we've all had. Rebekah might have seen a ghost running at her, and Will once encountered a scene straight out of The X-Files. Travis also recalls his history of jobs in supposedly haunted workplaces. Then we discuss the co-op horror story Man of Medan before diving into all things jump scares, soundscapes, and sanity levels. What's the difference between survival horror and psychological horror? Which types of horror do we respond best to? Why do any of us subject ourselves to horror in the first place? Finally, we close with Rebekah's update on her Zines and Things tour, and then ruminate on the Crusader Kings III announcement, new Crusader Kings II features, and signs that sure look like a Paradox push to centralize their games within their own launcher, and probably sell micro-transaction mustaches.
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Discussed: Lost in Vivo, Man of Medan, Call of Cthulhu, Resident Evil series, various horror concepts, Zines and Things
Episode 33: Sony's Playstation 5 is a year away, and we just... aren't very excited about it. We get into the evolution of games hardware and the shrinking gap in technology leaps between major console generations. With the PS5 expected to be backwards-compatible with the PS4, we also touch on hardware architecture and compatibility, where the lack of the latter creates a need for remasters and remakes of aging games. Also discussed are the worlds of Red Dead Redemption and Dark Souls II, monetizing D&D, and whether or not polls are good?
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Discussed: Red Dead Redemption, UNCAGED Anthology, Dark Souls II, PS5, Remasters, Democratic Debates
Episode 32: Will reads us a Steam review critical solely of gameplay time, and presents us with an open-ended question. How do we value games in relation to money spent and "content" time received? And how dependent are our opinions on an economic system where time is money? We discuss the "$1 = 1 hr. of gameplay" line of thinking, the stagnant $60 price tag, wages, physical discs, and the perceptions of studio prestige. We also do our weekly game check-ins, where Travis and Caleb have been exploring Destiny 2, Rebekah is prepping to run the Sunless Citadel, and Will is struggling with the realities of imperialism and classism in good ol' Victoria II.
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Discussed: Destiny 2, Victoria II, Dungeons & Dragons, data caps
Episode 31: Are subscription services the future? Does it make any sense to spend $60 on a game anymore? We're back from our hiatus to talk all things monthly payments, including Apple Arcade, which launched with a strong catalog of exclusives. Rebekah asks for advice on romance options in Stardew Valley, while Travis has enjoyed exploring The Oldest House in Control. Meanwhile, William is engrossed with the thick atmosphere in Metro 2033. In our thoughts and prayers, Rebekah gives us her thoughts on the film Hustlers, Travis is searching for this year's League of Legends Worlds theme, and William discovers autonomous horses in 80 Days.
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Discussed: Sayonara Wild Hearts, Mini Motorways, Control, Stardew Valley, 80 Days
Episode 30: How can a single player RPG be "dead?" We take a look at the tumultuous evolution of player-developer interaction over time, and the expectation players have grown to have for not just technical patches, but free content updates. A new culture has formed around reworking games that had less than stellar releases a la No Man's Sky, and the way players expect studios to fix bad games they paid for rather than move on to something new. We're calling out backseat developers and pondering over what our expectations should be when we buy a game.
Discussed: Remnant: From the Ashes, No Man's Sky, Minecraft, Fortnite, Overwatch, Rimworld
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 29: William and Travis have been enjoying the surprise hit Remnant: From the Ashes, while Rebekah experiences an over the table dilemma in her D&D game. Mount & Blade II finally gets a tantalizing early access date, and megacorporations continue to reign unchecked. Also, thoughts on Life is Strange 2 - Episode 4, and the Popeye's chicken sandwich. Spoilers for Remnant: From the Ashes from 24:48 - 30:02 and Life is Strange 2 - Episode 4 from 30:02 - 34:40.
Discussed: Remnant: From the Ashes, Death Stranding, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, Life is Strange 2
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 28: Examining the work of Amanda Phillips in Shooting to Kill: Headshots, Twitch Reflexes, and the Mechropolitics of Video Games, the valorization of the headshot from multiplayer lobbies to the esports stage, and the media propaganda that rationalizes police brutality with the narrative of split-second decision making. How does our interpretation of game mechanics color our attitude towards police violence? And with corporate greed allowing hate groups to flourish, how should the gaming community combat its most dangerous groups that celebrate police and white nationalist violence? We also look to the future, asking if motion controls and VR tech make shooters inherently more unsettling, and whether or not we'll all be uploaded to the cloud one day.
Discussed:
- Rationalizing Brutality: The Cultural Legacy of the Headshot (Jacob Geller - YouTube)
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 27: The idea that video games are responsible for mass murders is still pushed by political figures and fans of the guns industry. On this episode we take a look at systemic violence in the United States and the intersection between capitalism, hatred, gun control, and yes, video games. If that sounds messy, well, it is. But we know that games are about much more than violence, and can have positive impacts on the world. We touch on the camaraderie and global sportsmanship of esports, the power of comfort games in times of crisis, and the social bonds online games forge between people around the world.
Discussed:
- We Do Not Need To Defend Video Games From Politicians (Kotaku)
- No, Video Games Don’t Cause Mass Shootings. But The Conversation Shouldn’t End There (Time)
Gamers Outreach Foundation
Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 26: You guys ever heard of Mixer? Forgot about that. Will has been adventuring in what he calls "Stealth Souls," or Sekiro. We break down how effective Sekiro's stealth system is, then reminisce on Thief: The Dark Project's challenging but rewarding stealth mechanics, and wish more games would treat stealth with the depth it deserves. Also, we reflect on mobile, idle tie-in games like Mass Effect Datapad and the Black Flag Companion App.
Games discussed: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Kind Words: Lo Fi Chill Beats to Write To, Thief: The Dark Project, Splinter Cell, Dishonored
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 25: Going to a Denny's at 3 in the morning is a classic American ritual, an experience shared by many and from which we derive a greater meaning. This week, we're talking about the shared experience of playing games, and the rituals we partake in before and during our gaming sessions and the purpose behind them. Gotta get that bad juju out of the d20 before the game starts, right? We wrap up our discussion on rituals in gaming with an online Discord and Twitch-based church complete with all the sermons, worship songs, and homophobia you'd expect of a traditional Christian church.
Thanks to Amy for joining us this week, follow her on Twitter!
Games discussed: Sky, Tetris Effect, South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Sims 4
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 24: Some games we associate with so many positive memories that picking them up again feels like returning home, and there are psychological reasons behind the phenomenon. This week we discuss an article by Polygon's Astrid Johnson, who breaks down why a game like Breath of the Wild can evoke such a reaction. Cam Call joins us on the podcast this week and he's waiting on a card game stuck on a boat because of the new China tariffs. Also, Caleb's final thoughts on Metal Gear, Travis experiences triumph in The Climb, and You Are Jeff Bezos is a harrowing text adventure.
Thanks to Cam Call for filling on this week. Follow him on Twitter!
Show notes: The psychological reasons certain games feel like coming home (Polygon)
Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, The Climb, You Are Jeff Bezos, Ticket to Ride, The Partisans
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 23: Rebekah has released a new and exciting zine called "Brave," and we kick things off by talking about the project and being passionate about independent publications. Then it's on to video game news. The "Den of Thieves" G2A came under fire again Monday when indie developer Mike Rose condemned Google ads directing people to buy his games from the grey market site. "Please, if you’re going to buy a game from G2A, just pirate it instead!" he tweeted. We discuss the fraud-enabling history of G2A, including our own experiences with the third party key marketplace, and how the website hurts indie developers disproportionately.
Then it's onto reflections on the Steam summer sale and the long animals that raced every day, we think? The corgi was the longest boy most days. But it was another case of indie developers losing when Steam's confusing giveaway led users to remove indie games and smaller titles from their Steam wishlists. Finally, we talk about some of the games we've been playing, including Katana Zero, Mini Metro, VA-11 Hall-A, and Hypnospace Outlaw.
Show notes:
- Shady Market G2A Offers To Pay Journalists To Run Pre-Written Article Defending Them
- This Year's Steam Summer Sale Was A Mess, Game Developers Say
Games Discussed: Breath of the Wild, Katana Zero, Mini Metro, VA-11 Hall-A, Hypnospace Outlaw.
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 22: We recorded this episode a few minutes after an earthquake shook Vegas, so Travis is on edge. But we dive right into The Outer Worlds co-director Leonard Boyarski's statement that the game will be "political," but not "politically-charged" and the misguided pandering developers often practice to reassure sensitive fans the game is worth buying. We also look at how The Last of Us handles complex moral issues, and how the developers of Mordhau are trying to find a great way to appease their racist community. Finally, we make mid-year reflections on 2019's best games, from The Outer Wilds to Resident Evil 2, and Caleb reflects on his time playing the Metal Gear Solid series, which leads to an attempt to explain Metal Gear Solid to Travis. Emphasis on attempt.
Show Notes:
- The Outer Worlds co-director says it will be political, but not 'politically charged'
- The Last of Us Part 2 won't shy away from politics
- Mordhau Developers Address Controversy, Saying They Won't Add Gender Or Race Filters
Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, The Outer Wilds, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Scorn
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 21: Marianne Williamson is channeling powerful crystal energy. Beto o'Rourke wants to make sure you know he can speak Spanish. And the planet is rapidly advancing towards irreparable destruction. Meanwhile, we discuss an article about climate change from a gaming perspective, where beautiful digital recreations of nature are overshadowed by the dark reality that global warming is destroying the world we inhabit in real life, and 4K gaming and Stadia data centers will only heat us up more! After getting that existential crisis out of the way, we all weigh in on what games Bernie Sanders should stream on Twitch. Rebekah wants to see him indulge in an ultraviolent title like Mortal Kombat, while Travis wants to see him play Doki Doki Literature Club to address the need for accessible mental healthcare. To close we recap games we've been playing - braving the depths of Europa in Barotrauma, our multiplayer Crusader Kings 2 session, Caleb's adventures in Metal Gear Solid, Rebekah's experience with Dominion, and a rhythmic journey through Cadence of Hyrule.
News Discussed:
- Gaming's Climate Dread in a 4K Streaming Ecosystem
- Bitcoin's Climate Impact Is Global. The Cures Are Local.
- Bernie Sanders' New Twitch Channel Needs Fewer Campaign Ads, More Bernie Sanders
Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, Barotrauma, Crusader Kings 2, Dominion, Cadence of Hyrule
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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.
Episode 20: Making our post-E3 return, the Hitpoint Pals recap their favorite announcements from the showcase including Watch Dogs: Legion, Cyberpunk 2077, and Psychonauts 2. We then take a look at the decision by EA to sell Nazi character cosmetics in Battlefield V, and the dangers of normalizing Nazis as "just German soldiers." We look at the games Call of Duty: WW2, Hearts of Iron IV, and the Wolfenstein series and discuss how each of these games portrays the Axis powers, and how the cartooning of Nazis in media detracts from the atrocities of World War II, and the events leading up to the war that allowed those atrocities to happen.
Show Notes:
- How games whitewash Nazism, and the responsibility developers have to history
- How Call of Duty: WW2 handles swastikas and female soldiers
- What Happens When Wolfenstein Comes Back at the Same Time Nazis Do?
- Games Have Always Tried to Whitewash Nazis as Just 'German Soldiers'
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Episode 19: Following an exciting week of pre-E3 announcements, we gathered to unpack the week's news and then dive right into a special conversation about queerness in video games. Will and I do our best to follow along as Rebekah guides us through a discussion about the way that games are already queer, and tries to show us how the mere act of playing a game is a queer experience. By the end of the discussion, Will and I feel like we're college freshmen who have stumbled into a 400 level gender studies course, but it's an enlightening conversation nonetheless. Finally, we briefly preview the E3 conferences on the horizon, and prepare for the reveals, surprises, and disappointments in the days to come.
News discussed:
- Google Stadia launches this November with $130 Founder's Edition (Engadget)
- Baldur’s Gate III is finally official, coming to PC and Stadia (Ars Technica)
- E3 Schedule (GamesRadar)
Games discussed: Ashen, Dungeons & Dragons, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Crusader Kings: II, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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Episode 18: First things first, everyone saw Godzilla: King of the Monsters this weekend, so before we can get anything done we have to get our thoughts on big monster movie out of the way. Then it's a full fledged Kojimian nightmare as we remark on the latest Death Stranding trailer, our histories with Kojima games, and our hopes and skepticism about the upcoming "strand game." But then things get real dark. First we discuss the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trailer and presentation summaries. Activision's "reboot" of the most loved Call of Duty game will feature brand new commentary on the realities of war while still making shooting guns feel cool. Then our conversation unravels into a larger criticism of imperialism, military grandstanding, international diplomacy, the corrupt loop of the military industrial complex, and straight up war crimes. But we wrap up on a lighter note with the games we've been playing, including Travis' adventures in The Outer Wilds, Caleb's revisit to Dead Space, Rebekah's Civilization VI conquests and D&D adventures, and William's surreal "Pathologic" trip.
News discussed:
- Pokémon's new game lets you catch 'em all while you sleep
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a realistic reboot designed to make you feel uncomfortable
- Death Stranding: release trailer
Games discussed: The Outer Wilds, Pathologic 2, Dead Space, Civilization VI, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
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Episode 17: Will gives his his thoughts and praise for Total War: Three Kingdoms, and fills us in on the perils of hiring a high maintenance character like Lu Bu. Travis gives Life is Strange 2 some attention, and Rebekah's guilt about colonizing Zimbabwe in Civilization VI leads to a larger discussion about morality in strategy games. Then we move on to the news that Playdate is launching a handheld gaming platform with a crank, as well as the acquisition of another studio by THQ Nordic, who it turns out owns a lot more properties than we thought. Finally, we read some breaking news about the commissioner of the Overwatch League leaving Blizzard to join Epic Games, and discuss the staying power of Fortnite as well as a Kotaku article about shady business practices in esports.
News discussed:
- Playdate Will be a Tiny Handheld Gaming System with a Crank
- THQ Nordic Aquires Yet Another Studio, has 80 Games in Development
- Overwatch League commissioner Nanzer to join Epic Games
Games discussed: Total War: Three Kingdoms, Life is Strange 2, The Last of Us, Civilization VI, Breath of the Wild
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You want a good girl, but you need the bad podcast.
After eight seasons of highs and lows, HBO put a bow on Game of Thrones, a pop culture phenomenon that transcended genre to become a cornerstone of water cooler discussions. Despite its unavoidably nerdy status as a sword and sorcery story, the world fell in love with David Benioff and Dan Weiss's small screen adaptation of George R. R. Martin's sprawling novels, and episode upon episode became a must watch event as viewers tuned in following weeks (Tyrion's trial) or sometimes years (Jon Snow's death) of unresolved cliffhanger tension for relief in the knowledge of what happened next. Would Rob Stark succeed in the northern campaign? Would Daenerys ever cross the narrow sea? Over nine years we watched all the big pieces fall into place as Game of Thrones brought its saga to a close, although in a condensed fashion that left most fans feeling left out in the snow.
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Episode 16: Paradox's newest grand strategy title Imperator: Rome blends the best parts of Crusader Kings and Europa Universals, but the final product feels too heavily distilled to remain engaging over long gameplay sessions. We talk about how Paradox games generally launch feature lite, and what we're hoping to see added to Imperator: Rome in the future. Speaking of wanting new features, we also recap news stories about labor conditions in the games industry, against the backdrop of competitive multiplayer gamers' demands for constant balancing and new features, and how post-launch content now feels like a necessity rather than a bonus feature, even across the single player games market. In pop culture talk, we give our spoiler-lite impressions of Detective Pikachu, and look back on the controversial fifth episode of Season 8 of Game of Thrones.
News discussed:
- CD Projekt Red Pledges To Be 'More Humane' To Its Workers
- Ubisoft has Three Unannounced AAA Titles Coming 2019
Games discussed: Imperator: Rome, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Spider-Man.
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Episode 15: Reflections on The Elder Scrolls spark a discussion on how games treat race, and from there we dive into a rabbit hole that begins with a deep lore reading of the exclusively mono-racial identities in Tamriel, and ends with a sharp rebuke of Gamergate culture and the practice of labeling diversity as politics. We share some of our experiences as biracial Asian Americans who have all, at some point, been asked, "What are you?" Somehow we also manage to mention the reveal of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and how a focus on survival could help steer the series back towards its tactical roots.
Show notes:
- Mysterious Asians: How The Elder Scrolls Fails its Asian Players
- Ghost Recon: Breakpoint reveal (video)
- 'I'd Have These Extremely Graphic Dreams': What It's Like To Work On Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat 11
- How an Augmented Reality Game Escalated into Real-World Spy Warfare
Games discussed: Rimworld, The Enigma Box, Battle Brothers, Mordhau, Ghost Recon: Wildlands
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Episode 14: James Marsden's police car says "Green Hills." Then he yells, "SFPD!" Which is it, James Marsden? We look back on the first trailer for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film, the criticism it received, and the surprising announcement by director Jeff Fowler that changes "will happen." We also touch on new hardware entering the VR market as well as some Borderlands 3 impressions, before chatting about the games we've been playing. But the moment we've all been waiting for, the Battle of Winterfell, came and went, leaving us with numerous questions. We cap this episode of the podcast with a solid hour of cathartic talk about The Night King, proprietary video players, and the themes of A Song of Ice and Fire.
News discussed:
- Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer and redesign
- Valve Index is $999; Oculus Rift S, Quest release May 21
- Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal
- Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says game has no microtransactions, does have microtransactions
Games discussed: Borderlands, Rimworld, Frostpunk, Assassin's Creed: Origins, Breath of the Wild
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Episode 13: Rebekah and Cam join the podcast and fill us in on the D&D campaigns that they are currently running. In games we've been playing, we discuss the pensive farming game The Stillness in the Wind and the meditative city puzzler ISLANDERS. Plus, Travis enters the modern era of Assassin's Creed games with Assassin's Creed: Origins, and the leap of quality it brings to the series. Finally, Cam looks into the Satanic Panic that arose in the 80's, aimed at Dungeons and Dragons, and the wild story of a missing D&D player, a shady private investigator, and a pre-celebrity Tom Hanks.
Games discussed: Where the Goats Are, The Stillness of the Wind, ISLANDERS, Assassin's Creed: Origins
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Episode 12: Caleb discusses two games he has been playing on stream, Spec Ops: The Line, a military shooter that makes you feel bad about yourself, and The Darkness II, an action shooter where you're an antihero with Venom inside you. We also take a look at a story about a secret server for City of Heroes operating in the dark for an exclusive group of players secretly for six years, and the backlash the group has been receiving following the revelation of this server to the world.
News:
A Secret Server for the Dead MMO 'City of Heroes' Has Players in an Uproar (Motherboard)
Games discussed: Spec Ops: The Line, The Darkness II, City of Heroes
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.
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Episode 11: That disturbance in the force you felt was the Star Wars Episode XI trailer debuting. Equally as exciting was our first look at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. We gathered around our mics for a special Star Wars edition of Hitpoint Pals.
Games discussed: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Force Unleashed, Knights of the Old Republic, Game of Thrones - a Telltale Series.
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.
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Episode 10: In games we played this week, Travis discusses the final episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season and its sendoff to the series and Telltale Games as a whole. Amy starts a zoo in Zoo Tycoon 2, and takes us into the world of kinky Sims 3. Caleb continues his Dark Souls journey, and William revisits wholesome mouse RPG Ghost of a Tale. Then we try our hand at breaking down the biggest stories from the week, starting with an internet debate over a Forbes article about Sekiro, and whether the game should have an "easy" mode. Borderlands 3 is launching as an Epic Store exclusive, and Kotaku publishes an in-depth report on the troubled development of Anthem, shining a new but all too familiar light on the troubling workplace norms of game development at some studios. Lastly, we discuss the new trailer for the Todd Phillips "Joker" film.
News discussed:
- Should Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have an easy mode? (Forbes, Kotaku)
- Borderlands 3 is a 6-month Epic Store exclusive (PC Gamer)
- How Bioware's Anthem went wrong (Kotaku)
Games discussed: The Walking Dead: The Final Season, Dark Souls III, Zoo Tycoon 2, The Sims 3, Ghost of a Tale.
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.
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Travis's first impressions of The Elder Scrolls: Blades early access release, plus William and Caleb have been playing the Dark Souls series. We also recap the week in gaming news, starting with Gearbox's reveal of Borderlands 3, then Sony's VR-heavy "State of Play" announcements, the Apple Arcade subscription platform for mobile games, and Daedalic is working on Gollum game. Plus, beloved Skyrim content creator Shirley Curry, the 82-year-old "Skyrim grandma," gets honored by Bethesda as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls VI.
News discussed:
- Playstation "State of Play" recap (GameSpot)
- Gearbox announces Borderlands 3, Borderlands GOTY (Polygon)
- Apple announces "Apple Arcade" mobile games subscription service (Forbes)
- The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (VentureBeat)
- "Skyrim Grandma" to be NPC in Elder Scrolls VI (Kotaku)
Games discussed: House of the Dying Sun, Dark Souls Remastered, Ape Out, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Bayonetta, Dark Souls II
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.
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This past week, two important things happened. The first was Google's Stadia announcement - a new platform to compete with Xbox, Playstation, Twitch, and God. The second was hamster discourse which resulted in Amy getting blocked by Chrissy Teigen on Twitter. We also talk about some games?
News discussed:
- Google announces Stadia, a games streaming service (Kotaku)
- Epic Games Store says they will eventually stop paying for exclusives (PC Gamer)
- hamster thing with Chrissy Teigen I guess (Mashable)
Games discussed: Zoo Tycoon 2, Cities: Skylines, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.
Keep up with the show on Twitter!
It finally happened. The Master Chief Collection, coming to PC. After celebrating the great news we touch on rumors about a new streaming service by Google, and developer Turtle Rock Studios announces a Left 4 Dead follow-up. We wrap up with spoiler-free thoughts on Captain Marvel.
News discussed:
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC! (The Verge)
- Rumored Google streaming console may debut at GDC (Ars Technica)
- Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock Studios announced a new co-op zombie game, Back 4 Blood. (PC Gamer)
Games discussed: Monster Hunter World, Titanfall 2, Halo series, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, and Caleb Warwick.
Keep up with the show on Twitter!
We try to process the leaked Sonic the Hedgehog design. What's up with his eyes? Why do we not deserve good things? Xbox teases a Tuesday announcement regarding the Master Chief Collection and we hope it's a PC release. Travis revisits the mobile game series Infinity Blade, which was removed from the app store by Epic. And Tori gives us a rundown of the Netflix series Umbrella Academy, with no spoilers!
Keep up with the Podcast! We're on Twitter at @HitpointPals.
We round up the latest on upcoming games including Pokemon Sun/Moon, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Vermintide 2: Winds of Magic, and spooky sea-crawler Barotrauma. Then we dive into the week's top stories: THQ Nordic hosts a Q&A on a platform known as a hive for illegal activities, more info on the next generation of Xbox console(s), and the massive mod project Skyrim Together lands in hot water after modders accuse the project of stealing code. We wrap up with a recap of games we've been playing, including a not so positive reflection on Far Cry 5. All this and more, on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals.
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Anthem is the latest rocky launch for a series of high profile "games as a service" style games, we take a critical look at how this has changed the way games are released and consumed. Also, Xbox game pass may bring games to the Nintendo Switch, via a new streaming service. And Amy Rutherford joins us to delve into Sims lore and the upcoming Sims 4 expansion Strangerville. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals.
To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp
It's Nintendo Direct week and Link has awoken once again. Plus, Blizzard reveals their true colors. Also, the Overwatch League returns and with it, GOATS. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals.
To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp
Nostalgia for the days when Star Wars games were good, and a new report lends even more credibility to the Oculus Rift S coming soon. Plus, Apex Legends impressions, and the Hitpoint Pals wander into cult-occupied Montana. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals.
To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp
A trip into the world of Anthem raises the question - what makes a good co-op game? Also: What does the future of digital game stores look like following the Metro Exodus controversy? Plus: Are we the Hitpoint Pals? Featuring Resident Evil: 2, Anthem, Sea of Thieves, and more.