The Level

Latest Episodes:

211: They Call It Plunkbatting Sep 08, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about PlayerUnknown’s Battleground sales, X-COM 2: War of the Chosen, and we ask you how much you indulge in game hype.

The Brief:

PUBG hit 10 million units sold.
Resident Evil 7’s final DLC coming in December.
Walking Dead AR game coming to phones.
Zork minutia.

The Multiplayer:

What’s your relationship with game coverage and hype?

The Grind:

Dennis: Dreadnought. X-COM 2: War of the Chosen.
Ben: Stick Shift.
Kole: Pocket Arcade Story.
David: Fortnite.

Links:

210: Own Bone? Sep 01, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, and David talk about Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, the post-facto Half-Life 3 story leak, and we ask you about video game remakes.

The Brief:

Valve writer posts what would have been the plot of Half-Life 2: Episode 3.
Yakuza 2 is getting a Kiwami remake.
How Wolfenstein 3D’s blood fizzle works.

The Multiplayer:

Let’s talk about game remakes!

The Grind:

Kole: Sonic Mania.
David: Shadow Warrior 2.
Ben: Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

Links:

209: Stop Talking, I Want to Die Aug 25, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Jala, and David talk about Sonic Mania, the Age of Empires 4 announcement, and we ask you which game you’d like to see made into a theme park.

The Brief:

Nintendo did it again.
Bioshock 10th anniversary edition comes with a Tipped Daddy.
Age of Empires 4 announced.
Action games may inhibit your hippocampus.

The Multiplayer:

What game would you like to see made into a theme park?

The Grind:

Jala: Various Otome Games (Hakuoki, Destiny Ninja, Destiny Ninja 2, Ninja Shadow). In Verbis Virtus.
Kole: Sonic Mania.
David: West of Loathing.
Ben: GenCon stuff. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.

Links:

208: Yarn Bombing a Raptor Aug 18, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about West of Loathing, Hellblade, and we ask you which games you love to watch.

The Brief:

For Honor exploit controversy.
Swery65’s new game is called “The Good Life”. It’s about cat people.
The Secret World might become a TV show.
Magic’s new expansion will involve geocaching.

The Multiplayer:

What games do you like watching?

The Grind:

Kole: West of Loathing.
David: West of Loathing. Fortnite.
Ben: Fidel. Factorio.
Dennis: Hellblade.

207: Mommy, Am I Content? Aug 11, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, and Dennis talk about Tacoma, the Horizon: Zero Dawn expansion announcement, and we ask you which games have the best sound design.

The Brief:

Horizon: Zero Dawn expansion revealed.
No Man’s Sky is getting a big update for fast travel, story.
Level with Me is a very in-depth Half-Life let’s play.
Darkest Dungeon announced for iPad.

The Multiplayer:

What games have sound design that you can’t ignore?

The Grind:

Dennis: Hearthstone. Element4l. Killing Floor 2.
Ben: Fidel. Factorio.
Kole: Tacoma.

Links:

206: No Hunks Aug 04, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Jala, and David talk about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Pokémon Go’s curfew, and we ask you which TV show or movie you would like to see made into a game.

The Brief:

Pokémon Go imposes a curfew, maybe.
The old 2DS gets a super cheap bundle.
Warcraft gold is worth more than the Venezuelan dollar.
Gamestop will be open on Thanksgiving

The Multiplayer:

What movie or TV show would you like to see made into a game, and what kind of game would it be?

The Grind:

Jala: Guild Wars 2. Final Fantasy Tactics. Sky Dancer.
Kole: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
Ben: Factorio. Fidel.
David: Fortnite.

Links:

205: The Anti-Steinbeck Jul 28, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about AI that optimizes games, Kingsway, and we ask you which games helped you emotionally.

The Brief:

The most-watched Twitch clip.
AI has figured out Ms. Pac Man.
Optimizing Breath of the Wild.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy exists.

The Multiplayer:

Which games helped you the most emotionally?

The Grind:

Ben: Hexcells. OVIVO. Kingsway. Fidel Dungeon Rescue.
Dennis: Krater. Lords of the Fallen.
David: Vermintide.
Kole: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

204: The Tail is on the Inside Jul 21, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Jala, and David talk about the Sega and Atari retro console announcements, WASTED, and we ask you what mundane game tasks you can’t help but indulge in.

The Brief:

Atari and Genesis are getting retro consoles.
Undertale is coming to PS4 and PS Vita in August.
Steve Bannon ran a gold farming company.

The Multiplayer:

What mundane or grindy video tasks can you not stop yourself from doing?

The Grind:

Jala: Vermintide. Guild Wars 2. Sky Dancer. Final Fantasy Tactics. WASTED.
David: Vermintide. Guild Wars 2. Warframe.

Links:

203: Umlauts Aplenty Jul 14, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Dennis, and David talk about Dead Cells, Valve’s recent banning spree, and we do a Free Play Multiplayer.

The Brief:

Valve bans 40,000 accounts.
Half-Life gets its first patch in a while.
The new Legends of Localization book looks very good.
Wikipedia gets a text adventure.

The Multiplayer:

Free Play.

The Grind:

David: Vermintide. Dead Cells. Killing Floor 2. Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time.
Dennis: Lovers in a Dangerous Space Time. Vermintide. PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds. Don’t Starve. Krater.
Ben: Dead Cells. Hexcells. Kerbal Space Program.
Kole: What Remains of Edith Finch?

202: NSFJ Jun 30, 2017

Show notes

Kole, Ben, Dennis, and Jala talk about the SNES Classic Edition, Clandestine, and we ask you about your favorite character customization in games.

The Brief:

SNES Classic Edition was announced.
Rockstar tells TakeTwo to stop
Sega Forever brings free* Sega games to mobile phones.
Steam Sale happens.

The Multiplayer:

What game has your favorite character progression?

The Grind:

Dennis: Danganronpa 2. Tales From the Borderlands. Killing Floor 2.
Jala: Sky Dancer. Final Fantasy Tactics. Clandestine.
Ben: Ultimate Chicken Horse. Lyne.
Kole: None.

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