Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast

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Comedy
**Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast**

We’re a lifestyle podcast hosted by adult gamers trying to juggle our hobbies with the increasing demands of the “real world.” Join us each week to catch up on what we’ve been up to lately, whether it’s saving the world from space aliens or learning how to change a diaper. Check out our web site for links to connect with us on YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, and more, at gamelifebalance.us. And if you like what you hear, then please leave us a review!

Latest Episodes:

Hiatus 2017: Game/Life Balance U.S. Special Podcast Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

Following a prolonged absence, Cody gives an update on the mostly-dormant state of Game/Life Balance U.S.

Show Notes:

No show notes. I ain’t got time for that!

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo Switch Review (Game/Life Balance Gaiden Special Podcast) Jun 08, 2017

Show notes

This week, Cody Gough of Game/Life Balance U.S. is joined by special guests Andrew “AC” Yoshimura of Game/Life Balance Australia and Chris Ferrell of the All Things Good and Nerdy and Official GonnaGeek.com Podcasts for a VERY SPECIAL REVIEW of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Switch. Will you like this game even if you aren’t a long-time Zelda fan? And how does the Nintendo Switch hold up? Tune in to find out!

Show Notes:

Nintendo Switch Review:
- AC talks about why he bought a Nintendo Switch in Japan and not in Australia
- Chris discusses screen protectors, Pro Controllers, and Joy-Con connectivity
- Cody covers the portability factor, including what happens when you fight Ganon on a literal airplane
Breath of the Wild Review:
- Learn how this Legend of Zelda game has a completely different structure than every other Zelda game since The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
- Everyone drops some knowledge about how the logic and physics of the open world in the game function exactly as they should, and why that makes the game so much fun
- Cody does take one specific issue with the game: the voice acting. And he has a LOT to say about it
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com
All Things Good And Nerdy official web site: http://allthingsgoodandnerdy.podbean.com/

Defenders of the Triforce Real Escape Game and Trevail Kitchen: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 042 May 11, 2017

Show notes

Cody reviews his experience playing The Legend of Zelda themed Real Escape Game “Defenders of the Triforce,” and Jon explains why his birthday meal at Trevail Kitchen was one of the most unique dining experiences he’s ever had. Plus: a SPECIAL SURPRISE ENDING!

Show Notes:

Cody has accepted a new position as the director of the FBI, and is legally changing his name to “FBI Director James Codey”
Life Stuff
- Cody went to The Legend of Zelda themed Real Escape Game “Defenders of the Triforce” in Chicago, and recounts his experience
- Cody discusses Gen Con’s True Dungeon and a few “escape room” type games, describing the puzzles and play style they typically feature
- Jon grills Cody about props, specific puzzles, “production value,” and other details of the escape game, including SPOILERS with puzzle solutions and an explanation of why the game was thematically extremely well-done as it relates to the lore of The Legend of Zelda games
- Cody announces the next Real Escape Game, which he is insanely excited about
- Jon went to a place called Trevail Kitchen in Robbinsdale, Minnesota, for his birthday, and it was one of the best dining experiences he’s ever had
- The restaurant was a Kickstarter (!) and is like a weird hybrid food showmanship / surprise menu / crazy entrepreneurial chef incubator, and it was totally worth the crazy $150+ per person price, even though it completely confuses Cody
- After attempting to explain the restaurant for several minutes, Jon finally compares it to Hideo Kojima’s relationship with the Metal Gear Solid series, which is literally the only way to make Cody understand what he’s talking about
- With all this talk about food, Cody SEAMLESSLY TRANSITIONS into talking about the tasting he just attended for his wedding reception, and he and Jon swap wedding tasting and reception stories while continuing to tease a future story about weddings gone awry
- For once, both Cody and Jon agree on something: not many people remember good food at weddings, but everyone remembers if food at a wedding is bad
- SURPRISE WEDDING PARTY ENDING! Jon and Cody have a legitimate moment
- Plus: “Twitter replies are the new YouTube comments”
Email unqualifiedpodcast@gmail.com and tell us what you thought of today’s podcast!
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Jon’s layover fail and Cody’s weight loss win: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 041 Apr 20, 2017

Show notes

Jon explains why he will never risk flying with a layover while in the company of a small child ever again, and Cody shares his weight loss success story and the secret to how he lost 18 pounds in 6 weeks.

Show Notes:

Jon tells a tender heartwarming story about singing an Australian lullaby to his kid, because the only American lullaby he can think of is by Kid Rock
Cody and Jon haven’t recorded a new episode in quite some time, so prepare for a lot of excessive exposition! Fortunately, Jon plans on presenting this in essay form, and Cody loves conclusions
Life Stuff
- Jon went to Florida and stayed at a house with a lanai screen enclosure in the back, which was fascinating to him because he didn’t know that was a thing
- On the way back from Florida, Jon’s wife literally ran into DMX at the airport, and the ensuing story was completely ridiculous… not to mention the layover issues getting to New Jersey
- A bunch of New Jersey bars don’t have actual human servers… so how do you figure out how much to tip? Or… do you tip? Jon speculates on how that even works
- Jon explains why he will literally never accept a layover when flying with his kid ever again
- Cody talks about how he lost 18 pounds in about 6 weeks by doing a lot of DDP Yoga and going on the Whole30 diet for a month
- Jon tells a dumb story about how to grow almonds, which is probably made up and quite frankly just makes Cody angry
- They get into a whole thing about boiling eggs… email unqualifiedpodcast@gmail.com with your egg boiling methods and recipes pls thx
Current News
- A guy got to level 99 in Final Fantasy VII without cheating while still in the Midgar Reactor at the beginning of the game… and both Cody and Jon find that incredibly stupid and hate everything about it UNLESS HE WAS DOING KEGELS THE WHOLE TIME
- EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: you can tweet clips of a fully transcribed episode of Game/Life Balance U.S. using the brand-new podcast platform Signl.fm: https://share.signl.fm/gamelife36
Balancing Act
- Cody has been playing the new Hearthstone expansion, Journey to Un’Goro, and it has not made the game any more fun than it used to be
  - Cody explains the new “quest” mechanic and explains that deck experimentation is literally the only good thing about the game right now
- Jon hasn’t actually played the recent Steam release of Bayonetta, but he still has a lot to say about how awesome the game is; however, Jon has actually been playing Kingdom Rush
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII review (Game/Life Balance U.S. FULL GAMER Podcast) Mar 30, 2017

Show notes

Jon gives a very thorough Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII review… 3 years after Cody reviewed the game on their old podcast, Unqualified Gamers. Hear how the game withstood the test of time, including Jon’s specific recommendations for the best way to enjoy playing it for the first time.

Show Notes:

Cody reviewed Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII 3 years ago on his and Jon’s old podcast, Unqualified Gamers
- Here is Cody explaining the storyline to Lightning Returns to Jon, with hilarious results
- Here is Cody fully reviewing the game, in addition to he and Jon using Google Hangouts for the first time ever (!)
- BONUS VIDEO: Cody and Jon present a hilarious Lightning Returns UNBOXING VIDEO!
Jon covers the story and setting of the game, explaining why he thinks it’s actually really well done and probably the strongest thing about the game
Learn what the game does right and what it does wrong, especially when it comes to equipment and armor progression and when it comes to the “time limit” imposed throughout the whole game

Jon is a married gamer with a 3-year-old, so he has a limited amount of time to play video games. He has been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since childhood and has played every “main entry” in the series, and his co-host Cody has similar feelings towards the series. Hear Jon’s review from the point of view of a guy who is careful with how he spends his free time!

Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Special edition video games: ripoffs or worth it? Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 040 Mar 16, 2017

Show notes

The collector’s edition of Final Fantasy XII has been announced, and the price is STEEP. Cody and Jon debate the value of special edition video games, then give an update on their recent game/life balance.

Show Notes:

Current News
- FINAL FANTASY® XII THE ZODIAC AGE COLLECTOR’S EDITION is for sale on the Square-Enix store, and… it costs $200, which Jon thinks is offensively overpriced
- Jon takes a hard line against collector’s edition and special edition video games, insisting that they just aren’t worth the extra money to him, and Cody debates by helping him understand some of the appeal
- Art books? Collectible figurines? Exclusive games/DLC? Hear how they stack up as add-ons, plus hear about the Gears of War 4: Collector’s Edition and learn why it costs $250
Balancing Act
- Cody has been playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on his new Nintendo Switch… but he ran into a little trouble actually getting his hands on a copy of the game, since he refused to get anything other than the coveted and ridiculously rare Master Edition of the game
- Jon is replaying through Final Fantasy VII for the first time in a long time, so Cody grills him with the most important question that exists: does he plan on beating Emerald Weapon and Ruby Weapon?
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Cody got engaged and Jon nearly died: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 039 Mar 03, 2017

Show notes

In this EXTREMELY EVENTFUL EPISODE: Cody got engaged! Hear him retell the story of how he popped the question, then catch up with Jon and learn how he nearly died last week (like, kinda not joking).

Show Notes:

Cody and Jon argue about whose story should go first in this podcast episode, which somehow turns into a tangent about Omega Virus
Cody retells the story of how he proposed to his girlfriend and got engaged! Prominently featuring empanadas and the historic Music Box Theatre in Chicago
- Hear also how and why Cody ended up ordering a ton of Insomnia Cookies after splitting a bottle of champagne with his new fiance
- Jon gives some of his perspective as a somewhat recently married man to help Cody prepare for what wedding planning is about to be like, as they both speculate on when Cody might actually schedule his wedding
Meanwhile, last weekend Jon ran 7 miles (!), then got a couples massage, then got horribly sick and basically almost died
- “So, your weekend? Way better than mine” is Jon’s genius conclusion
- Cody and Jon trade sick day stories, including that time Cody literally couldn’t physically go to Starbucks for work
Balancing Act
- Jon rates his satisfaction with video game playing over the last couple weeks at a 1 out of 10, because he basically just laid around wanting to die because he was so miserably sick (although he did beat Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII)
- Cody gives himself a 7 out of 10 because he beat New Game+ in Rogue Legacy, plus he’s playing Final Fantasy XIV again and he’s really excited about reaching Heavensward content now
- For some reason, Jon doesn’t realize that the Nintendo Switch is about to change his life, so Cody sets him straight
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Final Fantasy XV review: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Feb 23, 2017

Show notes

Cody gives a feature-length Final Fantasy XV review. Spoiler alert: he didn’t love it. Hear Cody explain exactly why he takes issue with this game as a main entry in the series, then judge for yourself whether it’s worth buying at full-price.

Show Notes:

“No sense of wonder. No plot. Poorly structured. Egregious flow and play control issues. A melodrama without the fun or sense of adventure that defines the Final Fantasy series.”

Cody is an adult who works six days a week while trying to maintain a healthy relationship with his girlfriend, so he has a limited amount of time to play video games. He has been a fan of the Final Fantasy series since childhood and has played every “main entry” in the series (except for Final Fantasy XI), and his co-host Jon has similar feelings towards the series. Hear Cody’s review from the point of view of a guy who is careful with how he spends his free time!

Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Overwatch first impressions and board game strategy: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 038 Feb 16, 2017

Show notes

Jon finally got the chance to play Overwatch, the video game that literally everyone seems to be talking about! Hear his first impressions, plus Cody’s take on strategy board games and the best ways to play with friends.

Show Notes:

Jon explains why he thinks he’s “the gross guy” at the gym every morning
Cody and Jon went to Madison last weekend to play board games! Hear how and why the weekend ended up involving video games, especially Overwatch
- Cody also recounts his quest to get “the ultimate weapon” in Final Fantasy XV, which was roughly as disappointing as the rest of the game
The first board game of the weekend was Churchill, which Cody attempt to explain, but Jon just can’t process
Jon quickly changes the subject to the game Terraforming Mars, which both he and Cody thoroughly enjoyed playing, especially since it reminded Cody of Sid Meier’s Civilization (the video game series)
After many years playing advanced board games, Cody presents his theory of three tiers of strategy gaming skill levels—and how to get to the next level
Jon argues with Cody about the level of strategy involved in the game 7 Wonders, which is harder to be good at than Jon thinks, no matter what he says
Cody laments losing every game he played over the weekend
Cody also had the chance to play Superfight, a game he didn’t enjoy when he played a demo at Gen Con a few years ago but enjoyed so much in Madison, he’s actually considering buying a copy
Balancing Act
- Cody has barely played any console games since his Final Fantasy XV binge in Madison
- Jon “finished” playing Fallout 4 and was NOT pleased with the game; look for a review from Jon in the future!
- Both Cody and Jon rank their satisfaction with how many games they’ve been playing lately with an 8 out of 10
Cody promotes Better Podcasting, a phenomenal podcast hobbyist show on the GonnaGeek Network, and The Starling Tribune, a fan podcast for the TV show Arrow on the CW
Jon screws up reading the outro copy and it is hilarious to everyone, but redeems himself with the most hilarious anecdote ever regarding the oft-used online shorthand “af”
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com

Gamers on global politics, activism, and the billionaire class: Game/Life Balance U.S. Podcast Ep. 037 Feb 02, 2017

Show notes

Following Cody’s recent international travels, he and Jon have a frank discussion about global politics, activism, and the billionaire class, including a conversation on why people should approach politics from the perspective of strategy gamers. This mostly non-partisan podcast is full of unique perspectives from a couple of Millennials trying to make sense of it all; don’t miss it!

Show Notes:

Cody has “accidentally” become a globetrotter, but Jon has some exciting news about an upcoming trip that came about because he is very good at his job!
Learn about Michelin Stars, and the fact that apparently you can get more than one at a time
The Voice was holding auditions during a trip Jon recently took. So how did he do???
Cultures in Europe vary significantly from country to country, and Cody argues that there is not that kind of diversity in the U.S.; hear why Jon disagrees
Cody discusses Salzburg and explains why it’s like Rockford, and Jon somehow doesn’t equate Mozart with Cheap Trick
Then, hear about Cody’s experience at the World Economic Forum, literally one of the most exclusive events in the world
- Cody explains the difference between discourse among billionaires and discourse among the average citizen on Facebook or Twitter, and Jon responds with an argument that both types of conversation don’t have to occur in a mutually exclusive fashion
- Circling back to the U.S., Cody talks about watching the Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of State Betsy DeVos, and laments the apparent transparency of political theatre as the “game” that it seems to be today
- Jon tries to explain politics and why debates exist, although in today’s political climate, a lot of the meaning and purpose behind it seems to be obscured or even lost, depending on the situation
Bringing the conversation back around to gaming, Cody explains the 2016 presidential election from a “strategy gamer” perspective, and Jon explains how elections are like playing with a good strategy in the board game Twilight Imperium
- Cody explains why business leaders at the World Economic Forum gave him hope, but watching the U.S. Senate “debate” a presidential appointment left him feeling that politics is a stupid game and a complete joke in which nothing substantive ever gets accomplished
- Jon encourages Cody to “be engaged,” but Cody is jaded about that, too (and for good reason)—with problems that go “up,” not “left or right”
Balancing Act
- Cody finished playing Lara Croft GO, which had even more content than he originally realized, and he also recently finished Final Fantasy XV, which he destroyed in his soon-to-be-released review, but has continued playing because some of the post-game content is actually really fun (after 80-some hours of play time)
- Jon has been playing a ton of Fallout 4, which he says is huge and massive, but he still doesn’t even know if he likes it or not, and he can’t exactly put his finger on why
- Cody briefly mentions the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV TV show, the first live-action television series with a plot centered around a Final Fantasy game, and reminds everyone that FFXIV is probably his favorite Final Fantasy game
Learn how to connect with us on the GonnaGeek Network, syndication on WGN Plus, our YouTube channel, and more!
Podcast theme song intro/outro credit: ‘Unity‘ by TheFatRat with permission
Game/Life Balance AUS official web site: http://www.gamelifebalanceaustralia.com