Electronic Wireless Show

This week on the Electronic Wireless Show podcast we give our live* reactions to the new trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6, a game that certainly exists! Basically none of the predictions we made two weeks ago came true, but hey, there might still be a bunch of gorillas in it. And what about the fact that it leaked, huh? Is that bad? Should we feel sad for Rockstar? Will it make a difference, really? And why did James drink so much whiskey this weekend? There's no game this week (as Nate could not record owing to eating cake**) but we talk about the games we've been playing this week which probably couldn't be more different if they tried. Although I suppose there's a Scottish theme to the podcast, accidentally? *not live **cake eating is not confirmed Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Electronic Wireless Show podcast, we get a little bit removed from the rails, as it were. Things aren't looking great for Starfield - or at least, they're looking mixed, as in the Steam reviews, and verified but nameless devs are responding to negative reviews with comments that are basically like "no, our space game is fun and you're playing it wrong". We laugh about this (but also discuss the role of Steam reviews and devs replying to them). As well as that, the lads have been playing, well, the same sort of stuff this week, James brings us talk of mini PCs, and Nate makes us play Dracula or Russell Crowe. Extremely normal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Electronic Wireless Show podcast we talk all things GTAVI augury, what with the community going bananas for secret GTAVI clues, and Rockstar finally announcing that they'll have a trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto arriving in December. Alongside this we talk about the games we're playing right now (largely Darktide, it turns out), and dish up some recommendations. We also spent like a third of our recording time playing a deranged Age Of Empires 2-themed RPG using an abbreviated D20 system of Nate's devising, but don't worry, I edited it down quite a lot. Apologies for my poor mic quality! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Electronic Wireless Show podcast, Nate and I put on some ill-fitting industry analyst hats to consider the current state of the free-to-play games market: a peculiar arena, one that that enriches some almost as often as it dooms others. It’s all proven just too dangerous for Alan Wake 2 devs Remedy Entertainment, who’ve rebooted their upcoming F2P shooter Vanguard as a more traditional paid game. We later return to our core competences, in press release-speak, to talk about the Steam Deck OLED and the games we’ve been playing this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Rishi Sunak bundles nerds into Bletchley Park, we at the Electronic Wireless Show podcast are investigating the real danger of AI: somewhat rubbish text-to-speech voicelines making The Finals less fun. We discuss the arrival of AI voices in big-name games, the disappointingly businessy thinking behind it, and whether we can think up some uses for AI-generated material that we can actually get behind. All sparked by voice actor Gianni Matragrano’s video compilation of the lines in question, which you should probably watch before listening to this episode, or there’ll be a bit where Nate appears to bellow "THE KING FISH" for no reason. Well, maybe not no reason. It’s still Nate. Plus! We talk about what we’ve been playing this week, which coincidentally for me was The Finals, while Nate’s been digging deeper into the Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor demo. I also recount the teeth-based controversy surrounding Cities: Skyline 2, in turn begging the question: what are they going to do with all those teeth? Lea

This week on the Electronic Wireless Show podcast, Alice and James use the Frasier-inspired browser RPG as a springboard to talk about The Simpsons a lot. And also fan-made video games, like a weird SpongeBob SquarePants fever dream that James experienced while full of milk and chili, and the Waterworld arcade game (as imagined in The Simpsons). Plus, we talk about games we've been playing recently, which includes Alan Wake 2. Alice does an unhinged rant while unaware she is once again ravaged by Covid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please ignore that I erroneously call this episode 34 at the start of the episode. In episode 35 we briefly discuss Just Stop Oil's game-themed protest at EGX this weekend, as well as re-highlighting a guide from the Arma 3 devs so you can tell when someone is trying to share fake war footage (originally created during the early weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but now relevant again with the spread of fake Israeli-Palestinian conflict videos). For our larger theme we discuss games that flip-reverse their theme when you least expect it, which is usually seemingly-cute games becoming horror - much like Harvest Island! Plus: James gives us a rundown of fun games he tried at EGX, which sound very cool! Consider donating to Medical Aid For Palestinians Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite the extremely upsetting news about what nate has been having for breakfast this year, we maintain our composure to deliver an episode of The Electronic Wireless Show podcast all about the Steam Next Fest, currently running until next Monday the 16th. You've got a whole weekend of free demos to try, and we've knocked back a few to regurgitate into your open mouths as suggestions for what to try first. Plus, we've been playing a few current games, and have some juicy recommendations of non-game things. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Electronic Wireless Show podcast returns to one of our recent previous messes to discuss Payday 3. More specifically, we look at the post-launch changes the devs are making in an effort to improve matchmaking and wait times. Specifically, we use this to think about games that have changed their reputations after a rocky start, what with Cyberpunk 2077's recent 2.0 update. What are the circumstances that allow games to do that? Why are they such outliers? How do we think about reviews in the context of something like No Man's Sky? We've also been playing some big recent games, so tune in for discussions of Assassin's Creed Mirage, a call for pirate games, and a hilarious misunderstanding about Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week we at the Electronic Wireless Show podcast look at two contrasting tales of games being always online: Payday 3's overloaded launch servers, and Sea Of Thieves' triumphant reveal of season 10 additions. Is always online good? Is it bad? Or, much like the radiator in your living room, is it basically invisible as long as nothing breaks? Plus we dive into the games we've been playing recently (Nate is still plugging away at Baldur's Gate 3), recommend a bunch of unrelated short videos, and answer a question that has plagued humanity for years: would you punch a gorilla for a cheeseburger? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot of stuff happened over the past couple of weeks, so we briefly round up some of the Unity nonsense, and some of the more interesting and/or funny bits of the Microsoft leak that happened at the start of the week. But what we really want to talk about is intellectual property rights! Bill Willingham, the man who came up with Fables (the IP that brought you The Wolf Among Us) declared via. blog post that he's making Fables a public domain property. What does that mean? Can we all just make Fables video games now? And what can we do with Sherlock holmes? Plus: James broke the Lenovo Legion Go, I've been playing lots of games that aren't Starfield, and James recommends more music! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I didn't sleep a lot at the weekend and nothing interesting happened during the week (please bear in mind that we recorded this episode of The Electronic Wireless Show podcast before Unity made any announcements) so we decided to look at how Starfield is doing post-launch. Plus, Nate has been playing Baldur's Gate 3 and has thoughts about it, so that's double SEO juice for this episode. There's double beans metaphors this week, and James talks about the latest Steam Decklike, the Lenovo Legion go, which is like if a portable PC made love to a Switch, kind of. Some fun recommendations this week, too, especially if you like cathedrals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Greetings, starchildren. This week on the Electronic Wireless Show podcast we talk about Starfield, the game on everyone's lips! We got code late due to an unknown random happenstance, but we've now put a bunch of time into playing it so can have a blimmin' great chat about Bethesda's space RPG. I sound like I hate it, but don't. James actually likes it. Nate has not played it but he asks us about it. As you might imagine, the field of stars also makes up the bulk of our What We've Been Playing this week, although Nate is considering whether to start that or Baldur's Gate 3 - we give conflicting answers... Plus, some interesting recommendations, and Garfield! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Woah! Last week Gamescom 2023 happened, the biggest consumer event for video games in the woooooooorld! The Electronic Wireless Show podcast gives you our definitive take on what was hot and what was not from Geoffcom's Opening Night Live, and points you towards some of the previews and interviews our crack team has from the show floor. This week there's plenty to talk about re. What We've Been Playing as well, because James has been cramming in a bunch of small games. Fun! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a move that I already know I'll live to regret making, this week the Electronic Wireless Show podcast takes a look at the discourse that flared up in and around the release of Baldur's Gate 3. Larian's epic RPG had people asking: why aren't all games like this? But in an angry tone of voice that we feel left some things out of the conversation. Also, Nate challenges a Times columnist to single MMA combat, and we talk about the games we've been playing this week (spoilers: none of them are Baldur's Gate 3!) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome once again to The Electronic Wireless Show podcast. We're discussing current things about old things this week, as Bayonetta man Hideki Kamiya reveals he's not super fond of the term 'retro' when applied to games. We discuss his comments, and what retro even means anyway, as well as what kind of games count as retro. Who even knows? Definitions are a jail, man. James brings good tidings regarding the Steamdeck in two different ways, and has a grim beans metaphor to clarify it, while the what we're playing section allows for another opportunity to talk about Baldur's Gate 3, which is the thing everyone is talking about (it's so hot right now). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guess what? James and I, and a lot of other folk at RPS, are all learning the importance of rolling for initiative this week, because we're playing Baldur's Gate 3! Larian's take on what is essentially the official cRPG version of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition is out of early access today and boy, is it a doozy. So we answer your questions and Nates, and talk about animal forms and rolling for initiative and why the DM is a git. Plus, James has been struggling to get the game working on Steam Deck. Sometimes it does! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Having been absent for the majority of the last few pods, I'm back! At least for a bit, and just in time for Six Ages: Ride Like The Wind (a spiritual successor to King Of Dragon Pass) to to get a depressing-sounding sequel and Myst to get a Humble Bundle featuring its sequels, both official and spiritual. So that got us to thinking: what in the darn heck is a spiritual successor anyway? Are there standard parameters? We have a definitional argument, as is our wont. Plus: we've been playing a clutch of games that are both fun to talk about and current, James instigates a discussion about whether SSDs should be considered the default over mechanical hard drives, and Nate does a mini-game contest that is literally just about fish and has no relation to games whatsoever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the news that Assassin’s Creed Mirage won’t get any post-launch DLC, we of the Electronic Wireless Show podcast are wondering: what are some good games that only need playing once? Not out of a lack of enjoyment or interest, but because they were so satisfying that they left nothing else to want. Or because it would be too hard to recapture the joy of a first playthrough. Or maybe because they just ended really damn well. Whatever the reasoning, join us as we ponder our favourite games that we’ve never returned to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I was gone but now am here again to join my co-hosts on this week's Electronic Wireless Show podcast, much like the hundreds and hundreds of of hours of interviews, press briefings and old presentations salvaged by Noclip and heaved onto YouTube. We were going to talk about children's games this week, but given the game for children I was going to talk about was once Stadia exclusive Gylt it seemed a time to talk about the precariousness of digital media a bit (and also make James explain Stadia). We've all been playing a few games here and there, and most of them are current, with Nate still very enthusiastic about being a dinosaur. James comes with more beans to the hardware altar, and we all have some slightly weird suggestions for your recommendations. Plus, because Liam is actually away this week, I made a special effort to pay attention to audio levels and reduce background noise because I've seen ye all complaining about when I have to edit the podcast and I'm sick of it. Learn more about your ad choic