1Upsmanship

The fellas cap off their first season at iHeart with the traditional ranking of their favorite games of the year-slash-airing of grievances. Elden Ring might even be mentioned; who’s to say? If all the “traditional” outlets let you down on the GOTY front, give this episode a spin. If nothing else, shipheads can trust Michael and Adam to give their unvarnished opinions on what made an impact and what fell flat, no matter how unorthodox or unsupported by the facts. Agree or disagree, hopefully it makes for some interesting conversation and a solid look back at how the medium advanced in 2022. 

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Kratos, Loki, Freya and all the other knuckleheads from God of War (2018) return to complete the Norse Saga. Did one of the most-anticipated games of 2022 live up to the hype? Mike and Adam are happy to explain to you why no, it did not. “Happy” might not be the right word. Exasperated? Livid? The boys get really bent outta shape in this one, guys. Let’s all listen to their ramblings and nod along before they unleash their spartan rage and destroy the studio.

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The game is afoot in Fabletown, and someone’s out to get ahead…or two. Your very own gaming detectives Tweedle Swaim and Tweedle Ganz set out to determine whether Telltale’s decision-driven adaptation of Bill Willingham’s stellar Fables comics belongs on our Celestial Hard Drive. Will you side with Mike or Adam? Either way, they will remember that.

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Joined by Daemon Hatfield, host of IGN’s Gamescoop, our heroes reflect on Mario’s first major foray into the 3D gaming, and the moment where he finally found his voice. How did Nintendo triple-jump over everybody’s expectations and nail it on their first try? Why aren’t there more 3D platforming games? What else is there to say about one of the most important video games of all time? Hopefully we figured out something, cause this thing’s almost an hour. Spoilers: We did. 

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One of our most esteemed guests, the designer of Subnautica and new miniature RTS game Moonbreaker, Charlie Cleveland stops by to talk about the design process, his long term goals and experiences as a designer, following up on the success of Subnautica, and how to deal with valid criticisms on a release. You can check out his new game Moonbreaker in Early Release on Stream. Join us for a great conversation about how games are made!

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Perched high in their AC-130, Mike and Adam revisit the subject of Call of Duty’s legacy through the night-visioned lens of one of the franchise’s greatest entries. Hard truth bombs get dropped! Friendly fire gets briefly tolerated! But will Modern Warfare finally breach the fortified walls of the Celestial Hard Drive? Join us on this special mission and find out. 

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Brian Brushwood of Modern Rogue and the World’s Greatest Con podcast pops on a headset and bumps virtual fists with your fearless heroes as they come together to cover Valve’s pinnacle VR experience! Before the G-Man stuffs them all back into stasis, they’ll finally determine whether there’s a viable path forward for the medium or it’s just a passing fad that gives most people motion sickness. VRoooooom!

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What? Back-to-back Half Life? That’s right Shipheads, we know what you like and this Halloween we decided you deserve a treat. Mike and Adam are joined by Mark Lentz, a video game developer who worked on the recent indie hit Cursed to Golf, to discuss the towering legacy of one of video games’ most beloved sequels, Half Life 2. Will Mike finally finish mocking the Smoking Man? Will the boys forgive the sequel’s profound refusal to clarify the story? Will we ever get tired of using the gravity gun? I mean…the answer to all these questions is no, but if you want to know the answer to the most important question of all, whether this game makes it to the celestial hard drive, you’ll have to listen all the way to the end. Enjoy!

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Grab your crowbar and conveniently pre-charged HEV suit Shipheads, cause we’re tearing down the fabric of reality and changing the course of human (and gaming) history! Join Mike and Adam as they talk about the enormous legacy of Half Life, the series’s unfinished story, and whether it holds up by modern gaming standards. (Spoilers: Adam played Half Life for the first time a month ago). 

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Shh! The 1Ups boys and Gamefully Unemployed’s own David Christopher Bell are huddled up trying not to get Xenomorphed. Actually, you know what? Just get in here. It’s safer, plus it smells like dude. We’ll talk about Alien: Isolation, a seminal survival-horror adventure and potentially the greatest film-franchise-to-video-game adaptation of all time. Well, Dave thinks so, anyway.

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