Game Mess Decides

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64: LET 2017 END Dec 16, 2017

Show notes

GamesBeat Decides hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti pop in for a quick catch up. The crew is busy picking the best games of the year, so that means time is running short for your normally scheduled program.
But on this week's episode, Jeff and Mike talk about Hellblade, Gorogoa, and Hearthstone. They then dive into a news appetizer with some NPD numbers, PUBG on Xbox One, and more.
Games discusses:
Hearthstone
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Gorogoa
What Remains of Edith Finch
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

63: THROAT BABY TUMBLR MEMES Dec 09, 2017

Show notes

It was a busy week in video games. The Game Awards unleashed its "world exclusives" on Thursday, and we dive deep into all of the announcements from that show on this week's GamesBeat Decides podcast. On this episode, GamesBeat IndieBeat editor Stephanie Chan and VentureBeat managing editor Jason Wilson join host Jeffrey Grubb. The trio spends time trying to pick up the pieces of their lives as they catch up Game of the Year and prepare to cover Sony's PlayStation Experience.
As part of the discussion of The Game Awards, the crew took some time to talk about Hideo Kojima's eternally upcoming PS4 (PS5?) exclusive Death Stranding. The artist formerly known as "Konami employee No. 455540" revealed a new 8-minute teaser for the game that featured giant humanoid-looking creatures, a ominous world, and a baby inside the throat of The Walking Dead actor Norma Reedus's throat.
But outside of trying to navigate the mind of Kojima, the GamesBeat Decides crew also took some time to discuss A Way Out developer Josef Fares shouting "fuck the Oscars" on stage during The Game Awards and what is happening over on crowdfunding platform Patreon.
Games discussed:
Nier: Automata
Yakuza 0
Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Champions Ballad DLC
Never Stop Sneakin'
Reigns: Her Majesty
Healthy Breakfast
Gorogoa
Engare
Hearthstone: Kobolds & Catacombs
Skyrim Switch
Dragon's Dogma PS4 remaster
Civilization VI
Elder Scrolls Legends: Clockwork City expansion
TriDo

62: I WON'T KILL YOU FOR 6 MONTHS Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

Star Wars: Battlefront II has emoted and win poses just like in Overwatch, but one thing you can't customize most of the heroes with are costumes. While different outfits -- often called skins -- seem like a great fit for this take on the Star Wars universe, it's not here because Lucasfilm and Electronic Arts couldn't agree on how to bring them into the game. On this week's GamesBeat Decides podcast, hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti talk about this news and other reasons Battlefront II's launch went wrong.
In addition to Battlefront II, the Decides crew talks even more about Battlefront II -- it was a huge story. But the episode also covers CD Projekt Red's take on live services and how that affects its employees as well as Vivendi's ominous promise to Ubisoft.
In the second segment, Jeff and Mike try to figure out what games they should catch up on before the end of the year.
Games discussed:
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
Nier: Automata
Hitman
Super Mario Odyssey
Forza Motorsport 7
Assassin's Creed: Origins

61: RECURRENT CONSUMER SPENDING Nov 15, 2017

Show notes

Star Wars: Battlefront II comes out this week and a lot of people are already playing it and yelling about it on the internet. A significant number of fans don't like its business model and progression system, and it is letting publisher Electronic Arts know it. On the GamesBeat Decides podcast, host Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti got together with guest Bob Gardner from Intel to talk about Battlefront II, EA, and the most downvoted comment in the history of Reddit.
In addition to EA, we ask what in the world makes Nintendo think it will sell 25-to-30 million Switch systems next year. The only possible answer is Pokémon ... or China? Who knows, but that's a big number. The Decides crew also sorted themselves into Hogwarts houses after hearing the news that Pokémon Go developer Niantic is taking that license on next. We also dive into some tidbits about new Hitman, GameStop's Xbox One X sales, and the sexiest phrase in the English language: "recurrent consumer spending."
Here are the games we talk about this episode:
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Switch)
Rocket League (Switch)
Doom (Switch)
Super Mario Odyssey
Divinity: Original Sin 2
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Assassin's Creed: Origins
Factorio
Fortnite
Stellaris
Magic Arena
Banner Saga
The Witcher 3
Nier Automata

60: A CUP FOR FLUID Nov 08, 2017

Show notes

Mike has returned from BlizzCon, and Jeff Kaplan is his best friend now. We spend a portion of this week's GamesBeat Decides podcast going over what happened at BlizzCon and some of the games Mike got to play.
In addition to Minotti's Anaheim Adventures, we dig into the news and the difference between a cup for liquids and a cup for wieners.
Games we talk about this episode:
Super Mario Odyssey
Doom on Switch
Need For Speed: Payback
Call of Duty: WWII
BlizzCon games

59: KILLING NAZIS AND KINECT Oct 31, 2017

Show notes

Sony Interactive Entertainment showed off a brutal scene from The Last of Us: Part II at Paris Games Week on Monday, and the cruelty in that clip generated a loud response from fans and others who were watching the publisher's live show. On this week's GamesBeat Decides podcast, hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss why Sony would want to use shocking violence to market a blockbuster sequel.
In addition to watching The Last of Us characters smash arms in with a hammer, we also talk about some recent releases and the news. The big headlines include Microsoft dropping the Kinect, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds fate in China, and the rest of the announcements from Paris Games week.
Here's a list of the games and hardware we talk about on the show:
Super Mario Odyssey
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
Destiny 2 (PC)
Xbox One X

BONUS: THE BEST MARIO YET Oct 27, 2017

Show notes

This is a special moment because it is time for a bonus episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast and it is also, officially Mario time. In this show, hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti discuss Super Mario Odyssey. Mike has put in a lot of time with it, and he gave it a 100 out of 100 in our review.
During this episode, Mike explains why he loves Odyssey so much. Join us, won't you?
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58: Crush Me With Games Oct 24, 2017

Show notes

It was already a busy year, but publishers are apparently trying to test if they can kill people through overexposure to huge game releases. On Friday, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, Super Mario Odyssey, and Assassin's Creed: Origins launch for various platforms, so I hope you're caught up on your backlog. We've spent some time with a couple of these games, but on this episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast, we can only talk about Ubisoft's open-world historical murder simulator.
Origins is the first Assassin's Creed since 2015. Ubisoft took 2016 off after sales for the series started to dip. GamesBeat reporter Stephanie Chan is on the case, and she has found that the game is beautiful and vast, but she has some reservations. In particular, she has noticed a conflict between the open world and the narrative. Expect a full review of that soon.
We also get into the news about allegations against NeoGAF's owner and what that means for the discussion about sexual assault in gaming. Finally, we end the episode with a breakdown of the September NPD report and Destiny 2's dominating sales.
Here are the games we talk about:
Golf Story
Fire Emblem Warriors
The Evil Within 2
Assassin's Creed Origins
Bury Me, My Love
High Hell
Divinity Original Sin 2
Dragon's Dogma
Etrian Odyssey V

57: ANDREW WILSON EATS DEVELOPERS Oct 18, 2017

Show notes

This week's GamesBeat Decides podcast was already a long one, and then -- right before we were going to upload it -- we had to make it even longer. That's because hosts Jeffrey Grubb and Mike Minotti pulled an emergency bonus session to talk about the breaking news that Electronic Arts has closed Dead Space developer Visceral and canceled its Star Wars game.
That revelation is shocking on its own, but EA made it even more startling with a candid blog that explains why it made this choice. Put simply: loot boxes. EA only wants to invest its money in games-as-a-service (GaaS), and Visceral's Star Wars was a single-player linear game. It turns out that it's difficult to sell loot boxes in something like that, so EA has found it difficult to justify its budget.
In addition to EA pulling the Band-aid off of one of its multiple Star Wars projects, we talk about some other news involving loot boxes. For example, is Hearthstone too expensive and why doesn't the ESRB game-rating organization think this is gambling?
In the second half, we talk about Awesome Games Done Quick because speedrunning is pure and good.
On top of that, Mike and Jeff discuss some recent releases they've spent some time with, which include the following:
Cuphead
Divinity: Original Sin II
Golf Story
South Park: The Fractured But Whole

56: VICE PRESIDENT HELICOPTER Oct 10, 2017

Show notes

The evil White House in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid parody game Never Stop Sneakin' includes Health and Human Services secretary Dr. Acula (who is probably a vampire) and Vice President Helicopter (who is a helicopter), and that nearly kills host and PC gaming editor Jeffrey Grubb on this week's GamesBeat Decides podcast.
Never Stop Sneakin' is a new stealth action game from Dust: An Elysian Tail developer Humble Hearts, and Jeff and co-host Mike Minotti talk about it on this week's episode along with the news and a ton of games. Let me ask you something: Do you love raging about loot boxes on the internet? Well, then this is one of the best weeks of the year for you with the microtransaction trifecta of Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Forza Motorsport 7, and Star Wars: Battlefront II. All those games are driving players mad by disrupting progression or offering pay-to-win alternatives in competitive multiplayer.
Additionally, we talk about the following games:
Star Wars: Battlefront II
Golf Story
FIFA 18
A Hat In Time
Heat Signature
Super Metroid
Super Mario RPG

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