Game Time With Manny

It's our 250th episode, but we didn't really prepare anything special. Instead we discuss how Dead Space is on ice again at EA, the insanity a few studio closures, and some hot indie showcases. Matt got extra into hockey these past few weeks so he really only played Metroid Prime. That allowed me to talk at length about the 900 games I played such as Yellow taxi Goes Vroom, Harold Halibut, Dragon's Dogma 2, and Eiyuden Chronicle!

We return from our one episode without layoffs to let you know about some more layoffs. Then we hit the bottom of the news barrel to bring you hot things like maybe Gears 6 is getting announced this summer. In the games section you can hear all about my Stardew Valley Bender before we move into my favorite part of the podcast, which is listening to what wild ass games Matt has decided to play. Did anyone guess the original Borderlands? I sure didn't.

For once the news wasn't dominated by layoffs and studio closures! We discuss a few titles that were shown off and a few release date announcements. The true meat of the episode comes from the metric ton of games we both played over the past two weeks. I finished FF7 Rebirth, and started Stardew Valley (again), and Dragon's Dogma 2! Matt again went ham and played Devil May Cry 2, Call of Duty (the original), Gat Out of Hell and more! Get in now for all this hot video game talk!

Sadly the video game industry is continuing to fall apart so we once again discuss the numerous layoffs and closures that have happened before moving into some slightly more positive news. I played Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth almost exclusively while Matt finished Vanquish and Bioshock Infinite. He's also chipping away at some other games such as the classic Heavy Rain (JASONNNNN!)

Despite the fact that Xbox announced they were doing exactly what all the rumors said people are somehow mostly okay with that now. We discuss how everything is still basically the same. Most of the other news was a Nintendo Partner Direct, which we also talk about. I continued to play Persona 3 Reload and beat the story of Tekken 8. Matt finally beat Alan Wake 2 and then dipped into the well to start Vanquish.

Video game news came at us hard this week, so we discuss the Sony State of Play and do a whole lot of speculation about what the hell is going on with Xbox. I started Persona 3 Reload and have been playing a lot of Street Fighter 6. Matt played a billion games but the ones I was excited about were the Witcher 2 and that weird new free Silent Hill game!

If you thought that the industry was going to get better in 2024 you were wrong. Layoffs are continuing at an alarming pace across the industry in a way that doesn't match up to the excellent software coming out of most studios. Matt and I have both been playing some older games which we go over quickly before getting to the new hotness. I have been dabbling with Tekken and playing more Yakuza 8 than sleeping. Matt has been on that Prince of Persia grind and he's happy to tell us all about it.

Welcome to 2024! We return with news that 2024 still sucks for the video game industry and go over all the layoffs that happened recently. Much to my dismay that's really the only news... On the upside Matt and I played a bunch of games over the past few weeks and we are here to tell you about them! Matt has been playing Alan Wake 2, Forza Horizon 3, and of War 2. I was true to my word and played The Man Who Erased His Name, Ghost Trick, Unpacking, and Cocoon! I'm using a lot of exclamation points here!

It's our annual 2023 GOTY podcast! Buckle up as Matt, Noukeo and I regale you with our top ten games of the year counting from 10 to 1! As usual Matt was kind enough to pay attention and give us time stamps! Only look if you want spoilers! Street Fighter 6- 1:58 Dave The Diver-7:25 NHL 24- 10:54 Suika Game-12:55 Pikmin 4- 15:08 Diablo IV-18:06 Granblue Fantasy Versus Reverie- 21:15 Hifi Rush- 25:51 Steam World Build-28:34 Sea of Stars-32:20 Final Fantasy XVI-37:07 Star Wars Jedi Survivor- 44:06 Bomb Rush Cyberfunk-49:43 The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie-52:00 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2-55:44 Alan Wake 2-1:03:50 The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom-1:10:38 Resident Evil 4 Remake-1:18:55 Baldur’s Gate 3-1:23:24 Dead Space Remake-1:29:14 Manny’s Number 1-1:39:20

We are back once again for our annual Game of the Year Categories. First we briefly talk about the Insomniac Ransomware attack and a tiny bit about what we've been playing. As usual the categories are top 3 and Matt and I take turns going over our picks. We keep the more spoiler heavy categories to the end, but be forewarned that you might get spoiled anyways. We will be back next week for our regular annual GOTY podcast.

Much like how the Game Awards that happened this past week obfuscated the current crisis of our world and the many layoffs on the video game industry I obfuscated the title of this podcast. While we are normally a fun podcast about video games this one starts a little different. Matt has been having a tough time lately and he talks about it at the beginning of the podcast. I will warn that the themes are heavy, but the message behind it is very important. The rest of the podcast is just as stupid as usual though. We talk about the Game Awards, GTA 6 and the ton of games we've been playing. To finish it off we do a bracket of the top games of 2022 to begin our GOTY block of episodes.

We return after a month long hiatus to regale you with loosely researched news and what I have been playing. Matt and I discuss and make fun of Bethesda commenting on negative Steam reviews as well! The Super Mario RPG remake is good and so is Baldur's Gate 3! I also mention my time with Astral Ascent (Dope) and Knuckle Sandwich (Decent).

We go over some brief news before moving over to the metric buttload of games we played. This might actually be the most games I've ever completed in a 2 week period. I got the platinum in Spider-man 2, and Alan Wake. Then I moved on to beat A Space for the Unbound, Pizza Tower, and WarioWare: Move It! Matt played a strange amount of NHL 24, finished Spider-Man 2 and hit up some Forza. To finish we basically just talk about Spider-Man 2 with full spoilers!

I for sure introduce this as episode 236, but it's 237! We fly through the news because there isn't that much. I played the Alan Wake Remaster to get ready for Alan Wake 2, and Matt played some Forza Motorsport. We both played Mario Wonder, which we both like so far and we also both played Spider-Man 2 which is incredible and we gush about it for like a half hour!

Turns out that despite this being one of the best years of video game releases in history the industry is crumbling from the inside. Our news this week is almost entirely about lay-offs! Matt played several games like a bit of Assassin's Creed Mirage and Final Fantasy 16 while I focused on Cyberpunk 2077 and its DLC exclusively.

So much news happened the past two weeks it was crazy. TGS is ongoing, but there was also the Unity Fiasco, a Nintendo Direct, a State of Play and a ton of general announcements. We talk about it all, and then talk about all of the games. Matt played Dave the Diver, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Final Fantasy 16. While on the other hand I went wild with Mortal Kombat 1, Sea of Stars, the Pokemon DLC, and Cyberpunk 2077. Get in now to hear all the hot deets,

Have you ever wondered what video games were like just a month after 9/11? If so then boy do we have the podcast episode for you right here! However, before Matt regales is with a magazine from the past we talk about various studio closures and layoffs before moving on to a lot of talk about how we don't really like Starfield!

Gamescom has been popping off, but not giving us a lot of news that Matt and I personally care about. Geoff showed a lot of assets though. We mostly talk about what we've been playing this episode. Matt has been hooked on Dave the Diver. while I got almost 100% in Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, dabbled into Armor Core VI, and continued Baldur's Gate 3!

Even with all the stuff in my new recording room it still echoes! I'll have to do something to figure out if I can mitigate that. However, in the meantime Noukeo joins us to talk about Evo, Overwatch 2, and Trails into Reverie. Matt got into Dave the Diver and I have been on a big Baldur's Gate 3 tear. To finish off Matt has to dip out early to make it to dinner on time so Noukeo and I chat about Star Wars: Jedi Survivor for a while and spoil it up.

I am now a homeowner and have moved all my stuff into the house. I am here on the podcast in spirit, but my body is rebelling! Thankfully I make it long enough to talk to Matt about how dope Jedi Survivor is and also some Pikmin 4. The news is pretty light, but with EVO coming up there's still some to talk about!