300 Episodes Of Chaos, Heart, And Games

Three hundred episodes in and we still can’t shut up about games, community, and the wild lore that got us here. We kick off with the triumphant return of OG Tom, celebrate the 300th with heartfelt thanks, and then dive into a stacked “what we’re playing” that spans razor-sharp indies, comfort food cozies, and big-budget nostalgia. Silksong delivers a perfect late-game skill check, Hades 2 nails that 20–30 minute run cadence, and Expedition 33 sparks a real debate on how turn-based combat can stay deliberate while still feeling alive on defense.

We put the Switch 2 under the microscope with a tough Sonic Crossworlds handheld verdict and then vibe out with Cast and Chill, a serene fishing sim whose haptics, lures, and idle mode hide surprising depth. RGT crowns Final Fantasy VII Remake a top ten all-timer and breaks down why its ensemble outshines FF16’s dryness. Seb swings the spotlight to roguelikes and indies—Ball X Pit, Absolum, Demon School, Deck Tamer—arguing that fast, expressive loops and meaningful progression are where modern magic lives.

Then George confesses to a full U-Boat spiral: oxygen, batteries, periscope scans, and the kind of emergent drama only deep sims can tell. We riff on space-game wishes, Starfield mods, and why Outlaws works best as pop-and-sizzle Star Wars. And because 300 should mean more than nostalgia, we read listener memories, reveal our nearly-finished website, tease subscriber goodies, and set sights on 2026’s big bets: Wolverine, Fable, maybe GTA 6.

If you’re here for gaming podcast energy with real community roots—indie gems, Switch 2 impressions, Final Fantasy analysis, roguelike recommendations, and sim storytelling—this is the one to queue up. Tap play, subscribe, and tell a friend about UCP. Then jump into Discord and share your favorite memory or your current game of the year. We’ll see you there.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening Banter & 300th Milestone
• 5:45 OG Tom Returns And Host Introductions
• 6:50 Silksong, Hades 2, And Expedition 33
• 20:15 Turn-Based Combat Debate And Accessibility
• 27:40 Switch 2 Impressions And Sonic Demo Woes
• 31:30 Cast And Chill: Cozy Fishing Deep Dive
• 39:20 Evercade Nostalgia And FFVII Remake Praise
• 49:50 Final Fantasy 16 vs 7 Remake: What Went Wrong
• 1:00:20 Seb’s Backlog: Roguelikes, Indies, And Deck Tamer
• 1:15:10 George’s Retro Run: C&C To Rogue Galaxy
• 1:22:40 U-Boat Obsession: Simulation Storytime
• 1:37:00 Starfield Mods, Outlaws, And Space Game Wishes
• 1:47:00 Community Memories: Lore, Stingray, And Discord
• 2:05:30 Website Reveal And Subscriber Perks
• 2:15:40 Gratitude, Meetups, And Listener Messages
• 2:27:30 Supporter Roll Call And The Infamous Zangief
• 2:36:20 2026 Hype: Wolverine, GTA 6, And Fable

Transcript

SPEAKER_06: 0:20

Hello and welcome to the Unofficial Controller Podcast, your weekly gaming podcast, episode number. Sit down and get ready for this. It's a self-indulgent clip show. Not quite, but nearly. Number 300, can you believe it? With me, George, and this week joined by RGT Seb. And we've served up someone from the family crypt. It's OG Tom Rise. Spartans, we've outlived console wars, loot boxes, live service games, and somehow these legends of men still join me, the human equivalent of Stick Drift. How's it going, boys?

SPEAKER_03: 0:55

Very well, thank you.

SPEAKER_06: 0:56

Very well. Thanks for having me. It's a big show, so we've got a smattering of what I would call the history, the past, the present, and the future are all combined into one. I don't even know what anymore. But gentlemen, thank you for making taking part or being involved in every single step of the way that we've taken to get here. Uh thank you to the listeners. Thank you to everybody that's helped us, the guests, the everybody that's ever been involved in the show in any single way. We're grateful to you. Because here we are, episode 300. Who'd have thought it? Uh not me, I'll tell you. But uh, well, just carried on regardless, didn't I? We were gonna get here anyway, eventually, weren't we? Let's face it. But uh, yeah, a little bit of a special show. So it's feels very special to welcome back OG Tom. It's been a while since he's tread the boards, darling. Welcome back to Ponsabury Manor. I'm here. Beautiful. Um, Seb, who's literally falling in love with your dashing good looks. Uh I wish we could have got a hit record on his first meeting of you. It was I've never seen a man rethink his life so quick. He did went through his whole diet and not trying hard enough, and then OG Tom introduced himself and it leveled him again. That's absolutely beautiful to watch, but you do yourself an injustice, you're an absolutely sexual, sexual, beautiful human being. And it's our honour to have you here. Hopefully, I'm a bit more of a regular going through 2026. Am I fired up about that if I'm honest? Thanks for joining us. Are you doing well? Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00: 2:34

You oh yeah, I'm doing good.

SPEAKER_02: 2:36

I'm doing good, man. You were talking about Tom, and I was like, okay. I was like, okay, but no, like, yeah. Um, for audio listeners and and viewers all around the world, all you millions and millions of the UCP fans, you know, like I I did not know, like, I this was my first time recording with OG Tom, and so I didn't know what this man looked like or sounded like because like my first episodes, you know, were with RGT and George and Bobbe, and I so I didn't I did not know that this man was like a basically a 007 agent, you know, like so I wasn't prepared. And and that threw me off, and that threw me off. And then my fat ass, you know, I was thinking about brisket that I was cooking up earlier today, and I was just like having that thing on the slow roasted and slow roasted on the grill and such like that, brisket about the size of my sternum and my chest combined and such like that. I was thinking, I was thinking, man, I'm gonna go to town on that boy boy. There's so many ways I can eat it just fat, just think about all the fatness and goodness I was gonna get up to. And then I look and see this man coming over here looking like a male model, like Derek Zootland or stunt double. And I was thinking, oh no, I gotta rethink my choices in life. I gotta rethink my choices in life. This man hit a magnum, the pose, the pose magnum, and everything. I was like, oh no, oh no, no, no, baby. I I gotta rethink my life here. So no, no, I just I wouldn't prepare, and I I blame this on you, George. You should have prepared me and told me.

SPEAKER_06: 4:03

He's from a different cut, the family, he's got all the good stuff going on. That's all I can say. Um, RGT.

SPEAKER_02: 4:10

Should the man even be here? He's supposed to be on classified missions right now.

SPEAKER_06: 4:16

You're supposed to be on the classifieds, I think that's all you need to know. RGT. Yes. Uh I mean, you're here, legend, holding it together, uh, propping me up when I need it, doing all the good stuff. Absolute legend. Got your finger on probably every game ever made. How are you?

SPEAKER_03: 4:38

I'm good, thank you. It's a very kind intro.

SPEAKER_06: 4:41

Yeah, I thought I'd probably best try this episode 300 in it. Don't want to uh back to normal next week. Yeah, immediately, to be honest with you. Get those t-shirts out.

SPEAKER_03: 4:53

Yeah, yeah, fair play. No, I'm good. I'm good.

SPEAKER_06: 4:56

Good, good.

SPEAKER_03: 4:57

Okay, to be on the 300th as well, so uh, yeah, it's a pleasure.

SPEAKER_06: 5:01

What a special moment, you know. Unhook the face mask. PCSO Kemp wheeled him in. Absolute legend went out y'all, my collection like he was going at some Bombay mix and a bloody tandoori. Absolutely ravaged it like a locust. Come in. Just filled that bowl up. How are you bloody? Yeah, well, I'm a bit hungry. You want a brisket? He wants three of them made out of game cubes. That's what he wants. Um, so here we are. Um, gentlemen, it's only probably right and proper that I turn to you three and say, What been what are you what what have you been playing? Uh who should I assist to? This is not normally something I have to think about. It's been a wee while, uh, and God knows what tat is gonna wheel in front of us. So let's bring in the celebrity, OG Tom. What have you been uh playing?

SPEAKER_04: 6:03

I'd have thought you'd have asked if I've been playing Overwatch. Um I didn't I didn't want to I didn't want to scratch off that scab. Yeah, no, um yeah, it's it's been a while. I've played and completed quite a bit actually. When I I was thinking back about it today, obviously we discussed um me coming on the show uh a few weeks ago, and uh it got me thinking of what I've actually played, 2025. Obviously, we're just getting into 2026. Um so I'll start off with Hollow Knight Silk Song. Thoroughly enjoyed that, the sequel to Hollow Knight. Um it took a long time to come, and obviously it started out originally planned as DLC, and then obviously the developers kind of got more and more ideas and went further on with it and decided it would be a standalone game. And obviously, it was a bit of a running joke about we would uh probably get GTA 6 before we got that, but it wasn't to be uh a phenomenal experience considering it's a Metroidvania, um it's not obviously pushing the boundaries of graphics, but its art style is certainly very distinctive. Um there was a point that I described to you on the phone once about there's a certain part of the game towards the end where you've got a escape rising lava, and you literally the game has led you to this point of your skill set. It the game almost knows you've got the skills to do this, but when I did it, I just put the controller down and went, Oh, are we the PG or are we Oh we can listen, we're whatever you want to be now.

SPEAKER_06: 7:43

Okay, well I was like, holy fuck.

SPEAKER_04: 7:45

Okay, oh look at here, we came in.

SPEAKER_06: 7:47

Can I can I can I press this button?

SPEAKER_04: 7:49

Well, yeah, and like a and and like a like a like a young child who put the controller down, I was like, that was fucking awesome. I was just like the adrenaline of escaping this rising lava and doing it, I think it could took me a couple of attempts, but utilising every single ability you'd learnt in the game and and knowing to me that's a an amazing level design or um learning curve within the game to do that to to get you to that point where some people might go, oh no, I can't do this, can't do this. I'd heard rumors of this alleged escape. Um that I thought, oh maybe it's like one of those endgame things just to really test yourself. Oh no, it's chucked in the actual full-fledged story, and you've got to do it. There's no no running away from it. Uh so yeah, finished and completed that, thoroughly enjoyed it. It was probably my game of 2025, looking back. Uh Hades 2 came a close second.

SPEAKER_06: 8:53

We probably ought to have you in the Ponces to make up for all my uh bizarre things that I've put in this year, might make it actually relevant, Tom, to be fair. So if you can scratch together 10, George's in a week. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 9:06

I probably could. Um I've I picked up um while the Christmas delivered uh Expedition 33. Oh, hello. Uh yeah, I'm quite enjoying that. There's been a couple of it makes a very, very bold narrative choice. Um which I'm not gonna spoil for people, but I don't know whether it's gonna have what it takes to come back from that. But going on its critical um praise, I'd probably say it would. Um but yeah, it's been a couple of times, maybe because I've been a bit tired or whatever, where I've been like, oh, I don't know where I can actually um progress with this anymore tonight. Uh the the combat system is excellent for a turn-based game. So you can parry, you can free aim with your sort of long-range weapons, um, you can dodge. It's very interesting. I think um I think a lot of the Japanese studios are very interested in incorporating that into their future sort of JRPGs because it's certainly an unusual spin on that. It's not quite the modern Final Fantasy remakes or the the newer games, but it's not it's also not like all traditional turn off.

SPEAKER_06: 10:21

I was talking about this with Seb and I kind of saw that more involved turn based as a bit of a I hate to say it, it it it felt like a bit of a turn-off to me, because I don't want yeah, I just want to take my time, think about whether one item, think about whether I want spell. Like Final Fantasy 13's clock was about as close as I got to like anything other than that.

SPEAKER_02: 10:45

How still take your time with yeah, exactly that. Yeah, I'm like it should you choose what you want to do next. It's just you're reacting on defense now. That's the only difference, is it's just like when you attack, you can still attack with like the variety of different options that are available to you. It's just on the defensive side of the ball, uh on the side of like the turn-based system, it's like, okay, do you want to parry or do you want to try to dodge? And that's like the more real-time combat elements.

SPEAKER_06: 11:16

And everyone's down download Claire Expedition 33 to it now.

SPEAKER_02: 11:20

Yeah, everything on offense is like the only part that are that's like really interactive is like the part where if you hit one of the let's say like you do an attack that basically summons a sword up from the ground, that you might have like a perfect timing meter. And if you hit at the perfect time, it does exponentially more damage.

SPEAKER_06: 11:41

But that's it that I was a bit freaked out about, I think. But Mumsies on with that, well no, get the special edition. We'll get whatever I'm into it now.

SPEAKER_02: 11:48

I'm a big one. It still does damage, you just like it. You get a plus for doing it on the perfect time. So I'm like, you can still cruise through it. It's just you're as involved as you want to be.

SPEAKER_06: 11:58

I want my wife to cruise through it while I lay on the sete and lazily watch her do it, basically. I guess you might need to get into the accessibility options. Uh as you were, Tom, sorry.

SPEAKER_04: 12:09

Um, just a question for Seb as well. Uh at one point I was playing it, and obviously, with the it reminded me very much of like a rhythm-based dance game in the term of like pressing the buttons at the correct time. Uh, but it was implemented so well in the combat, and notoriously I'm very poor at those type of games. Um absolutely awful.

SPEAKER_00: 12:33

I'm the same.

SPEAKER_04: 12:34

Yeah. Um, but yeah, I found it's obviously with a bit of practice on the parry timing with uh Sekiro and Dark Souls and stuff, it helped. Uh but yeah, overall the combat's probably one of the strongest points for me. I I really enjoy it. Uh the story's interesting, it's keeping me hooked enough. As I say, there's just been a couple of times where I've been tired, and sort of I think it's one of those that needs whereas Hades and Silksong felt a bit more I can just pick them up for 20 minutes, half an hour, and play a bit. Um I prefer to do longer spells on Expedition 33. I think it warrants a bit more investment of time, but really enjoying it. Um the other my last probably pick I'll do uh whether you ever felt like it was a little bit like a rhythm action game at some point. Um articulate that very well, but um going back to like I seem to have played a lot on Switch 2 this year. Um I picked one of those up when it released. Mario Kart um tour is okay. I'm not a massive Mario Kart fan anyway, but I think um they did a reasonable job with that. Apparently it's not as well received as Mario Kart 8, but you know, can't please everybody. And then I really enjoyed Donkey Kong. Um, I think they really did a good job of bringing that to a modern audience, changing him up a bit. Um, I like the sort of mechanic of smashing through the levels, um, creating your own roots. It was a little open-ended, a bit like Tears of the Kingdom of uh finding your own solutions sometimes. Um and speaking of Tears of the Kingdom, I've been playing that with my two little boys um and they're thoroughly enjoying it. Managed to drag out all the amiibo that I collected at one point and actually put them to use. But yeah, that's that's about me. Um it's where I've uh kind of got to on my gaming journey for this year.

SPEAKER_06: 14:35

Well, it seems like your gaming picks also made Seb think that you were a high caliber of man. I I don't like the way that this is all working out. To be honest, if you listen to the show since episode one, you know that Tom's an absolute snake, and now Seb's put him up on a pet of some sort of Greek god, quite fitting for episode three on three.

SPEAKER_04: 14:55

It's a face turn. I think I was the heel, I was the heel, now I'm the face.

SPEAKER_06: 15:00

I like this. It was the most unexpected turn we ever saw coming because RGT's picked up the mantle. He's now like pretty much the undertaker of the show. Soon as his music kicks, I'm like I'm into the audience, I'm done.

SPEAKER_04: 15:14

It's like me, it's like me just it's like me shaking your hand. No, you shaking my hand and then looking up at RGT and Seb and then then the screening, and then you just like power bomb me on the floor.

SPEAKER_06: 15:27

Full heel turn. I've oh wow, because I'm already full heel turn because while you've not been on the show, I've had to pick pick up the mantle of the bad guy, which I've struggled with. Okay, yeah, so I've gone like Stone Cold heel style, just some F-bombs, this, that, and the other. I've tried to ride it out, but it it's not working that well for me. I normally have to like really jibe against RGT to get angry enough, probably for about an hour before we hit record to be that persona. Method acting's a bitch, baby. It's the only way I know. Uh so where are we gonna go next? Um, RGT, what have you been playing?

SPEAKER_03: 16:02

Um well, two or three things really. Um, first of all, I'm I'll just gonna say I did download a demo on the Switch 2. Um, I've done the Sonic uh race and crossworlds demo. Um, if you download that, play that in handheld, the resolution is terrible. It it looks like you're playing on a first edition Vita. It looks awful on the handheld on the switch. Crossroads, crossworlds, crossworlds, yeah. Because I did I do like the Sonic Racing games. I thought, well, I'll get a demo, see what it's like. It in handheld mode, it is I was playing at thinking this is shocking, and then I sort of googled it a bit, and there's a lot of people saying, Yeah, this is like a it's almost like a really bad Switch 1 port that they've put on for Switch 2. Yes, it wasn't very good.

SPEAKER_06: 16:49

Well, I had the version of it on Vita and it looked banging on there, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 16:53

In my eyes, it looks worse on the Switch 2, so I'm not quite sure what Sagra are doing there, but they need to sort that out for a Switch 2 game.

SPEAKER_06: 16:59

But it looked looked like they tell you into retro and you didn't want it.

SPEAKER_03: 17:02

Yeah, well to make it look like it's pixelated, yeah. It did look like Pixelated. Um, and also I've been playing a little game that um me and you have both been playing, I believe, which is Cast and Chill.

SPEAKER_06: 17:14

I want to know about this because I don't know how far you've got because I I I think I've circled around it. I've just been in just enjoying the vibes. This I I'll be honest with you. If you want me to slap a score on this, I and and oh hey, whoo, ooh, it's gonna make no sense to anyone whatsoever at all. It's it's gotta be at least an eight out of ten game, and and it's just for the vibes.

SPEAKER_03: 17:39

I think so. I think you've I mean, I was looking forward to this releasing. Um, I hadn't really said anything to anyone, but I'd been keeping an eye on it, and then it released, and the night it released, I get a message from you saying, You need to play this game. And I was like, funny enough, I've been following this game. So we're both thinking the same thing. So downloaded, I think I got it even on a deal when it first came out. It was only about nine pounds, I think, something like that.

SPEAKER_06: 18:00

A bit less than that, actually.

SPEAKER_03: 18:01

Yeah, um, and I think you're right, I think it is an eight out of ten game because what it sets out to do is in the name. It's cast and chill, it's just relaxing and as fishing. And it is very, very relaxant. Um, I need to get back on it because up until about a week ago I'd played and I haven't played the last week, but I'm gonna get back onto it because it's so nice just to have it on the switch to you know, hour before you go to bed to sit there, see what you can catch, get the gear upgraded.

SPEAKER_06: 18:28

It looks beautiful, by the way.

SPEAKER_03: 18:29

Yeah, it's the reflections in the water with the with the pix the pixel art and that. Very good.

SPEAKER_06: 18:35

Uh the underwater view where it kind of splits the screen. Yeah, moves it back so you can see like bits of rubbish underwater and leaves and the fish doing their thing, and and the fish sort of interacting with each other at different levels. It has no right to have that level of complexity in no what about the haptics?

SPEAKER_03: 18:53

Yeah, brilliant, absolutely fantastic. Um, I think it's such a great little game, and it's it's very basic to play, it's very easy to play, but there's a little bit of depth to it where pick your certain lures and bobbers for certain fish to lure them in, and then you'll see a big fish there and think, Oh, what's that? And you think, oh, that might be a largemouth bass, and then you go back to the shop and try and get a lure for the largemouth bass and upright your line and your boat and your bit, and it's yeah, it's just it's basic, but very good at it. It's it's it's a great little game. Um, just something you can have on there, just keep chipping away. It's not something you're gonna stick 30 hours into straight away, but it's nice just to just go back to it. Is it there's nothing to you know, some games are so in-depth you if you don't play them for a couple of weeks, you forget how to play that game. But with with this, you ain't gotta worry, that's that easy just to pick up and play. It's brilliant.

SPEAKER_06: 19:42

I mean you talking about it allows me to talk about it and and be even more indulgent in my bit. But the good news is have you tried it in the idle mode where you just let it do its thing? I haven't done that yet because I feel like it's cheating, but yeah, no, I haven't tried that, no. No get pause it, press idle mode, and It literally has a screensaver, but while it's doing that, it's just racking you up little fish. Boop, boop, back to base. Boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, back to base.

SPEAKER_03: 20:07

I don't even know you could do that. It's in the idle mode, but I didn't even know.

SPEAKER_06: 20:12

You can go in and say, and again, I haven't done this, but it was nice to go in and see that you could uncheck legendary fish, so even if like by chance you manage to snag one on, it it just doesn't even fish for them. So it's just collecting you the little bobbers so you can either watch it or grind for cash, I guess. I don't know how that would feel, whether it breaks the economy of the game.

SPEAKER_03: 20:32

Worth looking into though, as a as a as a little style of the game.

SPEAKER_06: 20:35

One question I've got for you have you put money in the guy's tip jar?

SPEAKER_03: 20:39

Yes, yes, make sure you keep putting your tips in there, because then you'll find out the new places to fish and bits and pieces. So yeah, definitely keep popping the old coins in there. Yeah, yeah. See the tip jar, put some coins in. Put some coins in it. But yes, thoroughly enjoying that. Very good. Um, been playing uh me Evocade on the handheld, me super pocket. Um been playing Neo Geo um Super Sidekicks. I forgot the name for a minute, football. Basically, I've just been playing that because our local fish and chip shop when I was a kid had a Neo Geo cabin with Super Sidekicks, and we should always go down there and play the machine. Now I've got it on a handheld, it's as good as I remember, it's great fun. It's just an arcade football game, you know, cut competition. But there's plenty of others. I've got the three cuts, so there's plenty of Neo G to go through still with Metal Slug 1, 2, and 3 and other various bits and pieces, but as always, plays brilliant on there. Um, them cartridges are so well curated, they're brilliant. Um, can't can't rate them highly enough. And finally, Final Fantasy VII remake. Um finished it yesterday, so completed.

SPEAKER_04: 21:43

Um, absolutely everyone's bigger boy gamers these days, aren't they? Look at you. Is that is that part one? RGP?

SPEAKER_03: 21:52

Yeah, yeah. And I've but and I've got rebirth ready to go. So um name yeah, yeah. You you you call it something else, but we won't call it that.

SPEAKER_06: 22:02

Yeah, even though we're not that any we're not PG anymore, I ain't saying that. No, don't say that.

SPEAKER_03: 22:07

Um yeah, I've it's funny because the stories always intrigued me. Uh there's something about Final Fantasy VII. I never played it back in the day, um, the original turn-based one. Um, but there's that something clicks with the story with me, with the you know, the corporates and taking the money and the people who are struggling, you know, and it's that's almost done like a metaphor where you know you live underneath them because you're beneath the rich, you know. And it's uh always intriguing the story, but I could never I started I've started over the last two or three years, I've tried starting Final Fantasy VII Remake two or three times, and I I found it quite complex with the combat and the material and bits and pieces, and then I played the demo on the Switch 2 uh a couple of weeks ago when that released. I thought I'm just gonna have to give this a go. I've got it on the um PS4, I can do the PS5 upgrade, which I'd done. Um, and it just clicked this time, and I just could not put the game down. I think I actual game tropes, I don't think they do anything too unusual. Um, the combat's fantastic, the combat is really, really good. Um, but there's just something about the story's quite in depth. Um, you want to find out more, you want to do more, and from when you go from the slums to the uh in you know, break into the Shinra factory and everything, it's absolutely brilliant, very well done, very well made for remake, and just got me wanting to play more and can't wait to start start remote.

SPEAKER_04: 23:35

It's brilliant. That that tile music as well. Oh, super.

SPEAKER_03: 23:40

Yeah, it's I don't know why this it's very rare nowadays that I get a game that really clicks that well with me, and and this really, really did. Um, and I was I was talking to Mrs. RGT last night, and she's because she's been watching the story as I've been playing as well, and there was a bit where I fell off, and I didn't even realise she was watching. She was like, Oh no, Cloud! And I was like, Oh, hold on, you've been she's like, Oh, yeah, it just fell off. You know, she was really torn in as well with the story. Um, and I was she was saying, You're really enjoying this game. I said, Yeah, I think this I think this is a a top 10 all-time great games for me. It's definitely snuck in the top ten, it's superb, absolutely brilliant.

SPEAKER_04: 24:20

The the sequel, uh sorry, content, the like 16 just seemed to be lacking so many of the things that the remake of seven had tried.

SPEAKER_03: 24:32

Well, the thing was, I quite I enjoyed 16 from what it was, but it's not a Final Fantasy game.

SPEAKER_04: 24:39

The summon boss battles are excellent. Apart from that, I couldn't, I just there's something about it, I couldn't get into the characters. Just the in-between sections though, mate, they're not worth it. No. Um going from as well 15, which I really enjoyed. Oh, same to RGT cruising around with cruising around with the bros.

SPEAKER_06: 24:59

So good, mate.

SPEAKER_04: 25:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 25:01

Going to the Chocobo ranch. Do you know what that game needed? It just needed more places to go to.

SPEAKER_04: 25:07

I think also uh I I feel like RPGs like that RPGs like that just live and die on their characters a little bit. Yeah, and it's why characters, which is why I think Exposition 33 is is keeping me hell because the characters are interesting. Um the actual story in general is a very cool idea. I've not really played or experienced anything like that. It's an unusual story or basis for a story.

SPEAKER_03: 25:39

But yeah, definitely if if anyone out there hasn't played Final Fantasy VII, the remake, definitely give it a go because it is superb. And like like Tom was saying, the the characters, every character's got their is completely different, and you want to learn about them from Barrett to Tifa to you know, it's very, very well made game, very in-depth, um, and absolutely brilliant. Um once you master that combat, it is very, very rewarding the combat when you when you get get in the swing of it. It's it's it's great. Some of the best combat I've used in a game, I think. So uh yeah, but that's pretty much me, George.

SPEAKER_02: 26:13

So so it's your top 10, it's in your top 10 games of all time now. You like is this like is there another Final Fantasy game that's in there? I'm curious because like I I historically speaking, I only played the Pixel based Final Fantasy games, and then the two games that I have tried that are more in the 3D base was Final Fantasy, was it um 14 is the Backstreet Boys one, the boy band one that you're just talking about? 15, yeah. I was just like, I played that, didn't like did not like that one at all. And then I and then I thought six and I was like 16, it feels uh 16 I didn't like either. I was just like, this feels like it's you know, I I felt like this was like forspoken with a bigger budget.

SPEAKER_06: 26:57

Yeah, I wouldn't disagree with you. They launched at the same time, and I I to be honest with you, I've I felt completely mugged off. I was ready for a new Final Fantasy, and and that I know it's got some fans, uh, our own Harvey Retro, I think, thoroughly enjoyed it, but I just bounced off of it. It didn't give me any of the characters that I was looking for that I'd historically really bonded with. Just felt dry.

SPEAKER_03: 27:21

What it felt like to me, Final Fantasy 16 felt like you know, when Square were going through this, you know, um knocking out all these JRPGs, weren't they? No, doing these cheaper budget ones like uh Valkyrie Elysium and games like that, it felt like one of those games, it felt like a uh half budget RP, you know, JRPG that you could just play through. It didn't feel like it deserved a Final Fantasy tag put onto it.

SPEAKER_02: 27:48

I'm wondering, I see. Here's my thing. I'm wondering what is the Final Fantasy tag in today's ecosystem at that point? Because I'm like, I'm I'm I'm struggling to see 10 out of 10 for Final Fantasy, is what I'm what I'm seeing. It's like I historically speaking, and you know, like I've always heard Final Fantasy VII GOAT Conversation. I've heard that, you know, I I haven't played a Final Fantasy VII game yet, not the old ones nor like this other one, but like these other remakes yet. So I've been tentative because I didn't like any of the 3D ones so far, but like when I hear GOAT conversation uh of like Final Fantasy remake and then Final Fantasy Rebirth, just for a heel moment here, I've I haven't seen that. I haven't seen those like us. I feel like modern games have been curb stomping them as far as like in the game of the year conversations associated with it. I think you're right.

SPEAKER_06: 28:39

I think like 15 was a good try that have you know has got good acclaim. I think 16 reviewed critically well. I think it maybe just missed the mark with its core audience or its traditional audience. I don't quite know why that was, you know, it was a turn away for the mainline franchise from like the JRPG style, which 15 had already kind of started. But the story felt wrong, it felt very it was when I say it was a dry old do, it really was like none of the characters showed any emotion or any hints of comedy, it was super dry.

SPEAKER_04: 29:18

I feel like it's lost a lot of its um emotion, uh, or like is it doesn't know what it is. I agree. It's very true, yeah. That's yeah, it's it's like it has this weird mix of like Devil May Cry, um Ninja Gaiden combat, but then it's also trying to incorporate um yet seven remake combat is really good, but fifteen just felt like I'm like, what am I playing here? Am I playing like an action game or am I playing an RPG? And it just didn't really hit any of those well. It was just like a melting pot of very strange.

SPEAKER_06: 30:05

Thing is, if you if you if you started playing these games back in the day and you'd been through the whole the whole game series and you're a big FF fan, well potentially 15, but definitely 16 was the point in time where you like kind of got off. You maybe you were an older gamer, you were like, Well, I can't do all this fangled flipping backwards upside down, hack slash business. So you know, they've kind of alienated the core, and it's fair enough. Maybe they think it's advanced, maybe they were trying to seduce a new audience, tell that same story but in a different way. It kind of works, but it's way more involved, and in a way, that kind of alienates some gamers who just wanted to mince through it as a roll dice rolling scenario, like myself.

SPEAKER_04: 30:46

I know I know at school it was like you were either sort of Final Fantasy VII or Ocarina of Time. Obviously, they were the like rivalries of the big um adventure games or um Ocarina's not technically an RPG, but those type fantasy type games on the on the two consoles. Um, and I think that's why I I never played 7 originally. I've never played it um in its uh original form on the PlayStation.

SPEAKER_06: 31:13

We were too busy breaking Blackmounting in Ocarina or Target.

SPEAKER_03: 31:17

I also think with 16, you there's not that discovering the characters, the characters almost give up who they are straight away. Whereas in Final Fantasy VII, you've got five, six, maybe seven, maybe even eight characters if you if you're into it that much. Yeah. Where you're learning and you're you're discovering these characters as you go through and you find out little snippets and more of them. So by the end, by the time you get the game, you've gone through the journey learning about these characters. That wasn't in 16. That's like, well, you you're him, and there's him, and away you go, and that's it. And there wasn't just sort of walking through a linear path with some decent combat, you you realise how how far they missed that game. Like I said, I thought the game was okay, but just not a Final Fantasy game for me. It was just like a square budget JRPG sort of hack and slash version, I suppose. But yeah, Final Fantasy VII Remake is is superb. And I think if they if they carried on with the Final Fantasy franchise making them like that, I don't think they'll have too much of a problem because I think you'll you'll pull more people in from with the story and the and the character dis uh character discovery as well.

SPEAKER_06: 32:25

Probably can't afford it. They're blowing way more on that Final Fantasy VII dribble. Seb, I'm gonna cut across you and ask you what you've been playing. Okay, so I'm done about talking about a 400-year-old game at this point.

SPEAKER_03: 32:37

We don't know what you've been playing.

SPEAKER_02: 32:39

I was about to say, I'm like, I was like, remake and outlaws are kind of dick and neck, aren't they? Like as far as like spoilers, but anyways, um I think um it's kind of interesting what I've been playing because I've been going back, and since we have this like break before like new games start to come out, it's feels like it's backlog season right now, and that's kind of like been a little bit of a journey for me. Excuse me. Been a little bit of a journey for me, really, because like I've been mowing down game after game this year, and like some of those games kind of really resonated with me, others it was kind of like been I played through a lot of them and they kind of come and gone. But like I've looking at my backlog, this was like my first opportunity in a while to say, like, what do I feel like playing that I can kind of get like the most joy out of and sort of like also kind of look at and say, what didn't I give a fair shake? So I went back, played Hollow Knight, um, played the original Hollow Knight, absolutely got curb stomped. It like absolutely got curb stomped real quick, and it became abundant. I'm not ready for this. I'm still not ready for this, even after Silksong, which I I didn't make it through Silksong. I the hot the lava level that you mentioned earlier, OG, was just like that's a dream.

SPEAKER_06: 33:59

I love how he's now his his face turn has brought him back with a whole new character as OG. I just what world have I woken up in where I get absolute this is proper WrestleMania business, but I absolutely get hop stepped on the way in, get an absolute turn slapped on me, and he gets a whole new reinvention of able to leave all of his toxicity behind and crawl into this new R welcoming OG character. I'm I'm just out of it. Yeah, yo. He's the man in Roman Reigns, man. He's the OG, he's OG at this point. I wake up in a world where Lily Tom is OG, the smoothest root dude in the room. He's come in with all his hair up.

SPEAKER_02: 34:48

I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Tom. Was this organized off there or what I I gave him the nickname? I'm I apologize. I should have asked first. Is that is that OG fine with you? That's perfect. Yeah, that's okay. Because those like we got two times I gotta differentiate between between them. Yeah, so I'm like, okay, OG. So OG managed to do something that I haven't done. You know, he beat Hollow Knight Silksong, and I I got curbs down. I'm gonna be honest with you. It it legitimately put me out the pasture like a couple of times, and I was just like, I'm not I'm not gamer enough for this. And my reflexes are obviously not not quick enough. My patience is has thiened out. So I tried um Hollow Knight again, didn't quite um didn't quite break through with that. I I really played through all of Expedition 33, and I tried and I booted it up again, and I was just like, I I at least want to make it to the beach again, just to it just to see that high again, you know, like the highs of of that game. And I did that for a little bit, and I was just like, man, I better quit or else I'm gonna replay this whole game. It's such an amazing experience. So I um made it through uh made it through Hades recently, um Hades 2. I made it through the Bal X Pit and absolutely adored that. I've felt like I got to a point to where I'm like, I I have no challengers now. But what what come what bring me as bring me something new? Bring me a new challenger.

SPEAKER_04: 36:15

I'm interested to hear a bit about uh is it ball XP? I've heard that game mentioned, don't it?

SPEAKER_03: 36:21

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Oh yeah. If you like Hades on a rush, if you like Hades, then yeah, this is uh great, great character. It's different to Hades, but it's got that similar sort of uh roguelike progression, but very, very addictive.

SPEAKER_02: 36:39

Okay. It does the it bollocks pit does like this the genius thing about roguelikes nowadays, to where it feels like an arcade game that could have been made like 20 years ago, but like gamifies it in a way that it still feels like a modern experience. So I'm like, Yeah, you know, like Hades, I would say. Um, did anyone did any of y'all play Absolem this year?

SPEAKER_04: 37:02

No, I could I I was trying to convince George to get that so we could play through it, and then he heard the words roguelike.

SPEAKER_02: 37:08

And then oh my goodness, this man. You well, how'd you get the taste in the family? Because this man's over here playing these two-year-old games.

SPEAKER_06: 37:16

I'm I'm I'm like him with a lovely watching this tag team join up live at this pay-per-view to just absolutely tear out through episode 300.

SPEAKER_02: 37:29

Embrace the rogue, embrace the rogue. Uh so Absolum, I I played through as well. Absolutely phenomenal um game, especially if you like meet them up like Streets of Rage.

SPEAKER_04: 37:38

Yeah, really keen to try that. I think I'll pick that up on Switch.

SPEAKER_02: 37:42

So, yeah, it's like Streets of Rage meets Hades in a way that is like absolutely amazing, beautiful art style, also fantastic, fantastic um soundtrack as well. Um, yeah, and then I played a game called Demon School um recently. Demon School is like a small indie game that kind of fuses persona with and the anime Yu Yu Haka show with also like the old school retro. Um, whoa, whoa. What bull maps is this on? Oh, um, I've been playing it on PC. I think it's on everything though. Um they I want to say this is also on the on that um what's that that crazy console y'all play that's kind of like has the power of a toaster? It's more in line with PC than most people think, but it also you pick up and play, but it's also catering to small kids, but for some reason man that is for some reason men over the age of 40 getting nostalgia for all these old no no no it's like it's the it's the game where like they know there's a drift in the controller that consoles the swatch that swatch they know there's a like a uh like a drift in the controllers, but they still put them out. The swatch, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, no credit edition. No cred edition. For sure, for sure. And then they got you again, they made you pay extra for the same for like the premium upgrade of that. I was just like, man, they fleeced, they fleec it out here. They are doing they've got to get those greenbacks in. They're poor. They are absolutely poor. Y'all donate to that charity like it's crazy. They put out another Mario game with a oh my god, he can actually spray water now.$60.

SPEAKER_03: 39:29

Like, what? Oh, he's he's off now. He's done it now.

SPEAKER_02: 39:32

Yeah, he's fired up and gone. For sure. But um, anyways, I I think I think um I think the game is also for that. I beat Dispatch, the game I was telling George to play.

SPEAKER_06: 39:43

And yeah, that's queued up in my list, man. I just can't keep up with all these games.

SPEAKER_02: 39:47

You've been playing the same three for five years.

SPEAKER_06: 39:50

I'm trying to research for flashy B.

SPEAKER_02: 39:53

That means that there's gonna be a lot of weird stuff in there. I'm almost like Tyler Ren in the on the new Star Wars movie. Where he's like, let the past die.

SPEAKER_06: 40:04

Honestly, mate, the OG Tom Seb team up has to be fair, new show coming. Gory and nice, almost like a crime detective agency of like this brick guy. And he's I don't know what role are you gonna play in this TV journal.

SPEAKER_04: 40:21

We would be causing like a like an invasion of flashback, and we'll be like busting down the door and like taking a chair to the head, pulling up outside, in a tank.

unknown: 40:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 40:34

So I I play through a Demon School, which is um uh like a turn-based, almost like anime meets like persona, um, type of spin. It's a very tactical. If you like Final Fantasy Tactics and um Final Fantasy Tactics and that out, does it play in the isometric tactics style, or does it play like the more so like that, yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's like Ricro persona in that sense, but you you also have like companion links and all that kind of stuff that also is very prevalent in the Persona series, but you're also hunting demons now, which is why I kind of make it more akin to like an anime like Yu Yu Hakasho or Bleach. Companion links with your team members or with some form of like spectrum. Which are team members more so, but okay, and each one of y'all have like different kind of powers. It's really it's a compelling, smaller experience, but it's like one of those things to where I think it punches high for its, I would say like$20 or low like price tag. So I'm like, full disclosure, they gave uh like they sent a code out for that game, but like I I think it punches well above its weight, and I think in a year where indies absolutely curb some triple A games this year, it was another indie that was just kind of got buried under the sea of good indies. Terminator 2D, I played through that. Um, beat that. I'm so glad it was a small experience. It felt like it got in, did what it had to do, and got the hell up out of there. But like I think it's a phenomenal game for what it is. It is very much a arcadey, small, bite-sized package that kind of delivers on what it sets out to do, but doesn't necessarily blow you away. But if you're in the mood for that type of game, go ahead. Deck tamer is the one I I want to put people on game about. Deck tamer is like if you wanted to. What's this game? What's this game called? Deck tamer. So, like the like um that console that's superior to the the Switch, like the Steam Deck is Deck. Okay. And then Tamer. And then Tamer, like the Lion Tamer, like like Chris Jericho used to do back in the day. What are you taming in this? What are you actually taming in this in this game? Is it what is this? So I I almost want to say I'm gonna get like sued for even talking about this game because Nintendo's that petty, but like it is a deck builder meets a monster catcher in a turn-based roguelike presentation. That makes more sense than what I thought it was. So like you face off against like enemy cards and different enemies, and when you beat those enemies, you can add them to your party, and you can decide whether you want to kill an enemy in front of you or tame it, and that and it sort of has like this old school like Pokemon in Yu-Gi-Oh kind of like presentation, but in a really cool modernized package. It the roguelike elements are absolutely spectacular. I think it does the thing, like I said earlier, of like really taking like an RKD experience and basically gamifying it in a modern day package. It's so fun, it's so quick. It's one of those pick-em-the play games to where like if you did miss like old school Pokemon, or like if you were a Yu-Gi-Oh fan growing up, you're gonna get out all those kind of vibes from this, but with a I would say a deeper story to where like you don't just get the surface story of like what Pokemon always gives us, which is kind of like I would say AI junk at this point, and that's kind of being generous. But like, if you liked um, it sort of feels like it it came out after like Dungeons and and Gambler's Degenerate came out, and it sort of took the lessons of that, and also the lessons of um of like a lot of different others type of roguelike games like Slave Despite. You know, I'm playing this on Steam, but like I know Deck Tamer. I had a friend who basically has been playing this on um on Switch, I believe, and they had and they had good things to say about it. But I but into play is absolutely phenomenal. I think um recording.

SPEAKER_06: 44:35

Ninty let that come out on Switch? What's up? Ninty let that come out? They don't even check. I'll tell you what, based on their store, they check nothing, mate. Honestly, the most egregious shit I've ever seen in my life has been exhibited on that store. Oh my god, I thought it was bad before, then they curated it, now it's got even worse. Where is it all come from?

SPEAKER_02: 44:57

Oh my god, it is it is the worst store out of all the four. Um, but anyways, yeah, I think it works on Switch 2. Store on Switch.

SPEAKER_06: 45:08

Oh mate, it was like shutting your penis in a door over and over again. It's awful.

SPEAKER_02: 45:13

Yeah, I think I'd rather glue my tongue shut than buy the Switch 2 at this point. So I'm like, I I don't I haven't tried out the store if I'm being honest. But no, um, I in real seriousness, George, what have you been playing? Spice it up. Let's tell the people. Tell the millions.

SPEAKER_06: 45:31

Well, they're your fans nowadays, gentlemen. I'm just here to open and close the show. But what I have been playing in my antique shop, uh, there's listen, I'm not gonna bore you with too much of the niff-naff and trivia. I've been deep down the rabbit hole to make sure I'm very cognizant for the Flashy B episodes. Uh, so I've been some highlights if you want. Um Command and Conquer on the PS1. Took a revisit down there, absolutely banging game still, started for a little bit of a joke and then couldn't put the sun bitch down. Got a little bit too carried away with that, I'll be honest with you. Um I just played the Eagle Disc. I didn't play the Nod uh section, and um you know Command and Conquer sat winking me on, hey oh, Command and Conquer ran alert. Hello there, fella.

SPEAKER_04: 46:20

Funnily enough, when when uh I last came round to yours and we're going through a few PS1 games, and I think we'd been playing SmackDown or something, and I was like, Can I play Command and Conquer out of all the games we tried? Because it I think we read alert on when you popped round. Uh yeah, it was one of the two, and uh it the the gameplay still holds up very well.

SPEAKER_06: 46:41

Really cool. It took me a little bit of time. I guess we're gonna end up doing a little bit of a deep dive on this, and then while over here we go. It took a little bit of time to remember about the loading unloading of troops. Uh, it's not very clear on the mission briefings, it is a game of its time, so you know, you get all that flashy CGI talk about what we're gonna do, and then I'm like, oh crikey, what do I need to do? So I press start and click on mission briefing, and it's pretty much the exact opposite of what those absolute dip weasels have been talking about in the CGI section. We're gonna know what the mission briefing, just set up a base. Oh, right, okay, click, done, mission complete. Like, what the hell? We're gonna go full rage America War, yeah, boom, set up base click. Okay, that's that's cool. Uh, I wanted to go full rage. Uh, a little bit later on, you do get to do that. There was one level quite early on where I um it was quite an easy win, but I got knocked back early, so I went and just built troop upon troop upon troop upon troop upon troop upon troop, and just turned up like, all right. So he decimated the dudes. Uh so yeah, that was a that was a probably a glaring example of my character to be fair. But uh moving on. There's been all sorts of PS2 going to stuff going on. Um, I don't know why, Tom, but getaway is a piece of cake. I absolutely breezewalked through the whole goddamn thing and actually found myself really enjoying it. Now, I have had a confession that I actually have had to strip and had successful cleaning operations on the potentiometers on the PS2, so that's opened up the library all again for me, and I've just been living like a little piggy in that. Um, touching everything. Rogue Galaxy's been a highlight recently, been really enjoying that. Um, but more modern stuff I've uh been enjoying. Um, Death Stranding 2 has uh made me very happy. Uh me and Tom talked off there. Did that game need to be made? I don't think so, but you know, you know, whatever. It's it's given me some joy. I like the universe, I love the universe. More of that, probably no bad thing. I'm still halfway through a replaythrough, a replaythrough of the director's cut of one. So I'm all over the place. I don't know who I am anymore. Um, I'm probably addicted to Monster Energy. Or may I say, um Silver Hook electrical contact cleaner, made in Britain. Uh get it anywhere you want. Pound Lan, major sponsor of the show now, big time. Uh get it there for all your retro console needs. Um I I drink it, so don't just fit no, I don't. No. Disclaimer he doesn't. Don't drink it. I don't use it in any illegal, strange way. I clean electronics with it. Okay, it's got a bit of running jokes, got a bit dangerous now. I'm not I'm not abusing it. Um where were we? So Death Sun in we'll park that. I'll probably talk about that more another day. Um, because this is a celebration. But one thing I did want to talk about, and this and this is perfect. And you're gonna be like, George, of all the games, mate, you could have deep dived in this moment. You're gonna pick this. Like, are you insane? I'll tell you what, I'm gonna pick U-Boat. Now, this is a game I've been sniffing around and watching at distance on YouTube. You've seen these PC gamers, these Steam Deck players, whatever, these higher level sort of DNA evolved human beings, second-level AI co-pilot guys, the kind of guys that play on PC, those sort of characters. And I'd watch them do these playthroughs like, oh, I'd love a bit of this. Maybe I get a Steam Deck, maybe I don't. You don't need it for one game. Anyway, I'll sat lounging around in my lounge pants, probably a little bit too undressed, really. Sort of sprawled out over the back end of the Christmas period. You know, and I I see this game U-boat, and I think, well it can't be that one on Ps either, some sort of weird battleship simulator or you know, mobile battleships game. Boom, it's U-Boat. It's a full paid up, full-on SIM nerd version, and I'm talking. Well let's get there. Right. So this game oh, it's good. It's uh you know, everyone else that's listening's just turned off. They want more fun. I finally want some Claire Expedition 33, but it's my freaking party, and I'll cry if I want to. So this game's it's all in German, right? The word, the spoken word, it's all in German. U-boat training, thank God it's got a massive tutorial section because I screwed up on one of the missions and left it in reverse and then kind of came out one of the sub menus and found it's sort of stuck parked up, stuck out the middle of the beach.

SPEAKER_03: 51:08

Oh no, left it in reverse.

SPEAKER_06: 51:12

Yeah, so I'll just punt it reverse back a little bit. I'll let me check in this sub-menu what's going on, what's going on, and then all of a sudden it'd ridden all the way up the beach and then stuck itself up out like an erect penis right on the beach. It's a little bit embarrassing to be honest with you, and the recovery from that, which I don't want to say on air, like getting it back on the ground, and then I didn't want to quit because I'd already spent multiple hours getting back, was then to sort of somehow rock the ship by submerging it and merging it, submerging it, merging it, and turning the full power in reverse, the full power in reverse, and this thing finally sort of edged off the beach. That was an unglorious moment for your highly celebrated U-boat captain as myself. Um, but getting out, you you kind of it's got some sub-sort of managerial sections in that I quite like. I didn't know this game was going to be my perfect foil because you have to make sure you've got enough food on board. Food means kind of discipline for your sailors. So if you've got garbage food, they're not gonna be that interested. Much like a real U-boat, obviously these things were driven on top of the sea a lot of the time because the diving sort of exposure that they had in terms of the freshness of the oxygen, the duration of the batteries, which they use when they're submerged because they can't use the diesel engine because it'd kill everybody, and it would also suck in war, and that doesn't work very well. So a lot of the time you're kind of mowing along the top, and then in moments of high tension, you would then dive. And this game, it's got it all in, right? When you dive, you have to turn on the ventilator, you've got to make sure everything's working perfectly. This game, you know, there is a fast forward section, right? There's a fast forward section where you can put it in like 400 times speed, so you don't have to do an eight-hour crossing in the English Channel, but that's for pussies as far as I'm concerned. You do an eight-hour crossing of the English Channel, up in your Conning Tower with your binoculars out, mowing left to right, looking for any spot on the horizon. Let's dive, boys, turn on the son off. Yeah, let's see what we got. Yeah, okay, target identified. Right, go back down, come back up, dead gun. It's an amazing game. It's a little bit nerdy for some. I would say it's a little bit hardcore for us. A little bit. There's various many a little bit.

SPEAKER_02: 53:26

I was just I was waiting for it because I was being polite, because I was like, Argentine looks like his eyes were rolled at the back of his head, Tom looked like he was about to take a nap while you were describing it. I was thinking, I was like, do you want to play a game or listen to or watch someone BBC or something to that game?

SPEAKER_06: 53:42

Honestly, and it's got all the things, it's almost like they designed this game on purpose because as you you can zoom out and view the submarine like a third person in all of its sort of Germanic glory as it's of underneath or above the water, and the character models and everything going on, it's really good, but then you can zoom in and you kind of move through the water and then through the shroud of darkness into the submarine, and it's this perfect, almost DK white uh cutout of a German U-boat, and you move from section to section. Get ready, boys. It gets even freaking better than this, right? So you're managing all the different sections, almost like a little big workshop. You'll see, said why, this can't be bad, mate. I tell you now, like oh yeah, and I felt like renting in train spotted. I was just like, oh dear.

SPEAKER_03: 54:31

I knew this was coming when you messaged me the other day. He said, I've got his game called U-Boat.

SPEAKER_06: 54:36

I don't want to talk about it. It gets better because if you click on any one of those people, even the sailors, not just the five officers that you command to command the sailors, you go into a first-person view, and you can get round the sort of inside through the hatches, grab the scope, go up on the top if you're aboard, and you go around, you've got guys with little tapping ears, listening to the engines. Everyone's doing things, you've got people playing cards, you can join in and play the cards as well. You can like build a relationship with the crew if you want to. Man o mano, there's so much to it. Yeah, so that's probably why I haven't been playing any of that other sort of drivel, modern drivel, whatever it is that you you guys have been talking about.

SPEAKER_04: 55:18

Or the cool kids games, I feel like for context, and I'm sure most of the long-term listeners probably have understood this about you, but for anybody who doesn't know, obviously, this being the uh 300th show, um we obviously started conversations years ago about talking about games and what we would do with them. And and this is a man who, if he was the developer or the director, and I'm there like, yeah, we need to make it really story-driven, linear games people are boom and boom boom progressing through the game break, but your character starts out here. Oh no, the character needs to live a full life 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. He has to do that. The player has to do that. So in 20 years' time, when the the game is completely outdated, he nearly finishes the game. You're very you like it, you like it real.

SPEAKER_06: 56:22

I I would prefer to see some more of these sort of like world war shooters or whatnot start with you doing like a mundane Grease greengrocer's job in like East End London or something, or working on a dock, and then you kind of you go home to your missus and you build that connection and you got your kids and it's all that, and then you get your investment. And then it's sort of all crikey, you go down and you do your basic training, which is then an evolution of the tutorial that you were doing as your sort of starting job as your greengrocer, plumber, candlestick maker, whatever it is, and then you get through to the main section, you do your basic so you burnt movement and picking things up and whatever, and then you learn the gun control, and then you parachute you into Normandy somewhere, and it's like wow, this is great.

SPEAKER_04: 57:02

Well, so you can the stakes are high, and also you could have potential characters that you meet in in your local town, or when you go to sign up or whatever, um, and and they uh present later in the game, potentially.

SPEAKER_06: 57:17

Jump into in a trench, something random and dirty, like you walk into a room and he's there, like, oh I should be a pelk, let's go! And then you're like, Yeah, this is great. Character beat, me and him have a little bump by the roadside, turn one of us' helmets upside down and cook some soup and rabbit guts in it. That'd be absolutely great. That's the sort of game I want.

SPEAKER_04: 57:39

I think out of all things that I look forward to with GTA, they're the little things that they do as a company agree to a to a level where you just see stuff and you're like, how on earth did they think to just put that in?

SPEAKER_02: 57:55

George, what I've learned about you over the years is is that you have a particular like a peculiar taste in video games, and the studio that made um U-Boat is or the studio that published it is Playway Playway essay. And I legitimately had you know, I rack my brain because a lot of the times I get some of these emails, and sometimes I see like some of these games come across, and I'm like thinking to myself, I'm like, I know there's an audience, but I don't know who it's for. And now I know. I'm like, I legitimately know because like the studio that made this is like damn because I'm like, I can see you playing contraband, the other games that y'all should like put out contraband police, where you're just like searching through uh people's bags, just really role-playing, getting meat deep into their um crime simulator where you're basically like trying to break into people's specific houses and everything like that. I can see you doing recycling center to where you're basically getting in the needy gritty and trying to like figure out how to best be a recycler or gold mine simulator. I've got that, you know. I've got that.

SPEAKER_06: 58:59

He's got me exactly, exactly. I'm phone for the sequel. If that's if that's the if that's from that same publisher, right? Not the same developer, by the way. Yeah, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_02: 59:10

There's like tons of different developer uh publishers.

SPEAKER_06: 59:12

That publisher that uh they've got their they've obviously they're my publisher, aren't they? Get them on the phone, Seb, see what you can do. I'll I'll put my name on a t-shirt if they want to.

SPEAKER_02: 59:21

All they need to do is now start farming, and you're just like they basically you they put out a subscription.

SPEAKER_06: 59:28

I'm not surprised they don't do a half-baked farming simulator, to be fair, because there's a few of those kicking around. They probably do. Um, with all that said and done, thank you for entertaining for and uh sort of persevering through my talk of a uh a rather niche game. I do blame that on being brought up in the UK through the medium of the Atari and Amiga, so to speak, because they were the games that I was raised on, like F 19 Stealth Fighters, Silent Service, uh whatever it was, Strike Force and F ninete Stealth Fighter. Are the games that I I don't know, maybe maybe I could hear my dad in my in my head saying, 'What are you playing that childish game for? Let's get Silent Strike on' or something like that, and like spent eight hours just navigating the Atlantic Ocean, dropping sonar boys, and I'm like, ah, what's happening, Daddy? So yeah, maybe it's a yearning for that, but um, yeah, it's a proper game as far as I'm concerned. Gentlemen, I have thoroughly enjoyed what has to be one of the best, what we've been playing in quite some time, mostly by what you gentlemen brought to the table, but a little bit something that I might suppose. I don't even know.

SPEAKER_03: 1:00:38

You bo dragged it down a bit, but other than that, we done well.

SPEAKER_06: 1:00:40

So in your face, you didn't get anywhere near as animated about your game as I did. I put on a full-on Nazi uniform for this bad boy. That's why it can't go out on YouTube. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_02: 1:00:52

George, I have a question for you. Yes, and this is I'll take it off. I'll take it off. Okay. So I I know you you've talked about U-boat and really getting lost in the sauce there. Have you, and I know you're also a big space guy. Have you thought about with the recent news getting into Starfield again?

SPEAKER_06: 1:01:10

I never got into it, but I'm thinking that listen, there's part of me that has a little bit of aspiration for Starfield, to be fair, and I I kind of just sort of got what I didn't like about that is that there were other games that were nailing the space to planet transition, there are other games that were giving you the freedom to have that ability, and you know, when it transpired, it was loading screen to loading screen to possibly loading screen. Admittedly, I enjoy that style of play in outer worlds as an example. It just felt like a bit of a barrier to entry to me because it just didn't feel right. Now, the universe making, all of that, I'm into it deep.

SPEAKER_02: 1:01:53

RGT, while he's talking about this, on your on your computers right there, look uh type in this, type in this Star Wars Genesis. Oh, mate, I know about Star Wars Genesis. And I like the mod.

SPEAKER_06: 1:02:06

Come on. I was about to say, it's it looks a bit Star Wars Galaxies to me, as in it's a bit 2000. Old Robeffect comes in, and yeah, it's it's a bit little.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:18

Let's play through Outlaws. The bar isn't high. That's not the game. The bar isn't high. I was like, their hair looks like straw.

SPEAKER_06: 1:02:31

You come in here and you've served me up some meals, admittedly, and I was like, oh, I don't think I can eat that. And I bet I've gone actually, do you know what? You were right, it was beautiful. But you there ain't no way I'm even eating that.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:44

That compared to the Ubisoft game, I'm like, the one where it's not happening.

SPEAKER_06: 1:02:49

I'm not getting Starfield, then getting a mod for it, so I can place that's gonna get ripped down in seconds anyway. Disney aren't gonna let that pass.

SPEAKER_02: 1:02:58

It's been up all week. It's it's gone strong right now.

unknown: 1:03:02

Wow.

SPEAKER_06: 1:03:02

It's only because it's in such minute numbers on that game that no one noticed. Now that it's come out on here, be shut down tomorrow.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:10

Yeah, bigger numbers of Call of Duty. I was surprised.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:14

But no, I I thought this would be like up your alley, though. Because now I'm like, with those mods in place, a lot of those loading screens of like going from like space, one thing to another, taken away completely. Like it is very instantaneous.

SPEAKER_06: 1:03:26

It's very like when they when they roll that into the main code and make it work. I'm I'm all in for the remote. If you know, as it comes to the machines and whatnot, we'll see some more refinement. Yeah, I'm up for it.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:37

Because I was like, I think it like completely transforms to me. I'm like, I I feel like I joke on outlaws, but I'm like, there are some things that game does well, and then some game, so some things I wish like it had of Starfield and vice versa. And I'm like, if I maybe like all three of those companies also worked with like the writing of the outer worlds, we can get like a really good space game.

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:00

Like third person, but I the one thing I'll say about outlaws, I'm not I'm not here to defend it in any way, is it's a Star Wars game, it's just meant to be a little bit of pop and sizzle. If I was playing if Outlaws had been more star foot fieldy, where I'm kind of like doing a load of fetch quests and messing around, I'd I would have bounced off that immediately.

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:24

Oh instantly, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:29

Outlaws fallen order. If you'd put me if you'd put outlaws versus fallen order, I'd have gone I'd have gone fallen order immediately.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:40

Straight are you no are you okay? Are you okay? I'm I'm doing well. Outlaws must be something special to put it above that.

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:51

Survivor Fallen Order, no, Survivor, yeah. Big time.

unknown: 1:04:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:57

I can say that. It's okay. You can. Yeah. Yeah. I booted up Survivor again recently and thought to my s and I uh genuinely I think I grabbed it from the cloud uh and streamed it, and it picked up from where my save was from where I'd finished the game. Yeah. And as soon as it loaded into the air, I was like, Oh, give me a cold shooter. I was like, Oh god, I remember this. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_05: 1:05:23

Done.

SPEAKER_06: 1:05:24

Gone.

SPEAKER_02: 1:05:25

That is amazing.

SPEAKER_06: 1:05:27

Outlaws, yeah. I'll play again all the way through. Absolutely. It's a fun barrel, it's what Star Wars is meant to be. I was meant to take it too seriously, God's sake. I mean, look at the characters, look at the universe. It's a fucking joke. It's freaking Star Wars, mate. People have got magic space wizards and that. Don't take it too seriously.

unknown: 1:05:49

It's amazing.

SPEAKER_02: 1:05:50

And I'm a Star Wars fan. I guess based on that description, it's a perfect Ubisoft like matchup. Based on that description alone, well, I was like, oh let's kill it into it.

SPEAKER_06: 1:06:03

It's episode 300. Everyone's gathered round because they want a little bit of nostalgia. They want that clip show. They want to turn up for that episode they thought was the last episode of the series, and it was going to be groundbreaking. It was just a load of clips from the last episodes that they'd watched. They felt robbed. We hope we're not going to rob you here, but we're going to touch on your nostalgia gland. Not in that way, just a couple of shake and a poke, if I'm honest with you. RGT, you reached out, we reached out, we reached out, globally reached out to the UCP universe. And we asked them for some of their memories of the 300 shows that we have done. Um, with a smattering of um flashy bee on top of it, but we're here for the main show today. Proper big boy business. And uh I have no idea. And then um here we are, RGT. I would like to uh turn to you in this moment, if I may. We're not gonna go listeners. I'm gonna ask you to take a take a private moment to pull up a pew, unhook the face mask, ask PCSO Kemp to step back a little bit and see you can shake free of your shackles. All the electronics are locked down, safe, behind glass, you're there, Hannibal Lecter, shivering lip. I want you to talk to me. This sounds a bit like a fat zangief sale, doesn't it? Really?

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:23

Yeah, it does, yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 1:07:24

Oh god, oh right, roll the dice, boys.

SPEAKER_03: 1:07:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 1:07:34

My plan for my fully operational battle station. Yeah, you'll see. You thought your heel turned at work, boys. You haven't been fat zangief for a burning table that's been electrified. That's what you haven't been. Uh oh, Seb's been fat zangief through a table, to be fair. And I think he's angeefed me through a table twice. Uh, anyway. RGT. You've been a fan of the show, you've been uh a participant in the show, you've been the assistant to the general producer of the producer of the show for a long time now. Um, you're pulling all the strings, you're paying all the checks, you're making all the promises, but somewhere along the way, you had that virginal touch of the show. Uh actually, probably don't talk about that because it was probably me getting any DMs of being a weirdo, but you know.

SPEAKER_03: 1:08:24

Oh God, yeah, yeah, yeah. I listened just to stop you, but um, no, it didn't work, no.

SPEAKER_06: 1:08:33

No, okay. Well, you only listen to the ones you're on now, much like OG Tom. So you really have picked up his mantle.

SPEAKER_04: 1:08:38

Uh you don't know how I I enjoyed an episode of Flashback earlier, and I was like, I really hope it gets to the bit where he talks about off-screen at time. But I actually then I then listened to it because I've been driving around today a lot, and um hearing the Master System story was just wonderful. And it made me laugh. Yeah, some very good.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:01

Not my proudest moment. No, it was your proudest moment with your eighth bit.

SPEAKER_06: 1:09:06

That's great.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:07

Yeah, the eight-bit.

SPEAKER_06: 1:09:09

So tell me, just give me some recollections, some nostalgia, maybe from those early days being on the other side of the fence, and these characters we were maybe creating. Just just let rip chat.

SPEAKER_03: 1:09:22

Um well, me, obviously, I started listening quite early on in the show. Um I can still remember when I first listened to the show, it's a bit like the old JFK moment, everyone knows where they were. Um I'd I'd actually only then recently within the I would imagine a lot that year previous, six months previous, got into podcasts. Um, and I thought, oh, I'll get into game and podcasts, I can listen to them at work. Um found a few um like retro asylum, I was listening to um Sacred Symbols, ones like that, and then a little Georgie boy cropped up in my DMs. Um I could come listen to our podcast, and that actually fell at the right time, so I was looking for more podcasts to listen to. Um yeah, yeah, yeah, no worries. Yeah, you know, it's up my street, and you know, I'm into retro and we got talking, and then started listening to the show. And I think what always set the show apart was the scene you set. And I remember I listened to the first show, I had a shower, I had it on in the bathroom, came out, and Mrs. R said, What are you listening to? I said, Oh, it's this new show. There's two guys, I think they're in a nuclear bunker. She said, Oh, really? Yeah, and I was listening to all the stories and as it was coming out, and after a while you have to give your head a wobble and think, obviously, they're just setting the scene here, but for a for a few episodes, you're thinking, I wonder, I wonder how they got permission to record this in a bunker. I wonder how they and just went went with the flow, loved uh loved the humour. And then obviously, we had um we helped a uh listener out um whose daughter was ill, and we all started chatting on Instagram, to which then um one of the old Winchester boys said, Well, I can set up a Discord server if we just chat on there, and that all went from there. And you know, I just think the shows um I think the show's got a great community. Um, definitely, I'm not just saying as I'm a presenter now, but definitely the best community I've been involved in. I've been on plenty of other Discords in the past of shows, and it was some of them mentioning no names, some were quite do you know what I mean? They had their click, and if you weren't in that click, they didn't, you know, they were sort of the OGs of the show, and you didn't get involved, whereas our is ours is brilliant. We all chat. I've made many new friends through the show, we've had meetups. Um I've had to learn how to be a podcast presenter, which was very daunting, but got there and we've done live events, you know, like OLL and been down to WISD in London, and we've been to Timeless in Manchester, which is now in Liverpool, format as well in Liverpool. So it's just uh been an amazing experience. I think we've got a great community and I've made really good friends from it, which to this day we we meet up and you know, meet up in Norwich or different places and go game shopping together and that. And I just think it's um it's a good place. I mean, like I say, when I first started listening to the podcast, obviously you stalked me, um, but it got me involved with the show.

SPEAKER_06: 1:12:36

But the I was you know what the logic was he's got games, he might like games, he might like to he might perhaps maybe might I'll tell him.

SPEAKER_03: 1:12:45

Yeah that worked, but I was at a the thing was I was at a stage where I was into my retro collecting, still am obviously, but I was into my games, but I didn't know anyone else. You know, I have friends who game are casual gamers, you know, they have a PlayStation, they'll play the odd game every now and then. I didn't have anyone to speak to games to, you know. I used to buy Retro Gamer magazine and I used to listen to certain podcasts, but then being involved with other people, like the UCP, it was uh it was brilliant because you just felt like ah, you can chat with you know, chat games, chat anything about it with with like-minded people, and uh yeah, I think it's been absolutely brilliant. Great community, great being involved. Um, love it, and yeah. And here's for the next next 300.

SPEAKER_06: 1:13:28

Bloody hell, you have to check me into old people's thing, mate. I'm about done. Surf me up, put an apple in my mouth. Yeah, that. Yeah. Wow. Um, let's do some listener responses because we've we've got some. Oh my goodness, we've had some uh we've got some bangers here. Um well Stingray's turned up, uh he says it's all good, but I think Stingray's boot is the best part. Um absolutely Stingray. Uh can't argue with that. Um how, when, where, why, I don't know. But Ian Rackless appears whenever you want him to. To anyone listening now, you've got to get quite deep odd, imagine, maybe a couple of years back to or hop across to Flashy B to get a slice of the Ray. Um as he is now. So we've tried to conjure him back in his uh in his as much close to his original guys as we can, but I think we've already let that run away from us. It's probably already jumped the shark. Um where did you come into? Here we go. Um, do you want to do one more RGT and then I'll um probably turn to Sebastian to ask him what uh his memory of the show is? Yeah, we've got hopefully it's not me stalking him. Um please. I know it's not well. I don't know, I have stalked him, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 1:14:50

You stalked a lot of people and got away with it, you know. Fair play, you're good at it. Um so we've got firm returns, he dropped in. Um, did to say that wasn't a lot of notice from me, but I did leave it a bit late.

SPEAKER_06: 1:15:02

There you look, we got creative in the moment.

SPEAKER_03: 1:15:04

Exactly. Um, he's first thing that comes to mind are the early episodes when RGT was referred to as a game in cannibal. That bit of lore was fantastic. Also, when I first started hearing about Ginge being George's stepson and wasn't sure whether it was true. Obviously, now I know it was. Um, the Past the Longhorn series was hilarious as well. Thanks for in return for that. It's brilliant. But there's some but if this is the first time you're listening to this and you're hearing all this lore, just go back and download, then it won't sound quite so alien. But uh yeah, he's uh he's gone right back there to me being uh the the cannibal. There's even there's artwork done at the time.

SPEAKER_06: 1:15:42

Well, I'll tell you what, there's um there was artwork done by the time by the immortal Finchie. Hopefully he's tuned in for episode 300. I hope everybody's tuned in that's took uh part in the show along its journey. You're always welcome, and and we love all of you, and you know, keep staying in touch and and doing all you do. Uh so that was that was nice because uh I almost put on a Finchie shirt. I had a a UCP stingray drive into the sunset shirt I found, and I was like, that's probably a bit deep cut. So I've got I've gone past it. Now that part of Rick Return, thank you very much for your comment. And and gingis an exception, absolutely, as you know. Yeah, I mean steady. Uh we'll save it, we'll save it for the bit that you paid for. Uh but um and it's it's lovely to see. I sometimes wonder if some of the story and the lore is a bit uh are we doing the right thing? I don't know. Are people just tuning in because they want to hear about I don't know, you boat? Um but to that end, one of the most outrageous, one of the most outrageous turns. Now, this is a show that quite RGT is quite right. He he seems to think, oh no, they're just setting a scene. No, we did live in a bunker, we did live in a 14th century roaming country estate, um, with the maids, the bunk uh butlers, a whole bag of tricks. Um, I am the 16th Lord Ponsilbury, but seeing as Tom's return from the uh from uh death, basically, or can't remember where the story had him. I think he was serving time in uh yeah, Riker's Island prison for his association with the now deeply emerging Geoffrey Epstein, but uh we'll we'll pass over that.

SPEAKER_03: 1:17:25

Uh yeah, don't listen to that law, just skip that one.

SPEAKER_06: 1:17:28

That was that was Tom. This is this character we've got today is OG, he's not associated with any of that uh business. No, he's clean. Uh absolutely. But one of the um we've recorded on submarine, we've recorded in a courtroom, you and I, Tom, uh, as we both took each other into the witness stand to obliterate each other's opinion on whether retro or modern gaming was good or bad. Uh that was uh that was a hell of a ride, to be fair.

SPEAKER_04: 1:17:52

Um that was that was a great episode, to be fair. I was thinking about that as we've been discussing the past.

SPEAKER_06: 1:17:59

Um we maybe a return to this. I just don't know if it's even the right scene, but let us know, you know, because it's your show as much as ours, a full sound-affected episode with doors creaking, crowds order, the whole bag of tricks was it was a radio drama series one more than it was a gaming show, I'll be honest. Um, is it ever been a gaming show? I broke the fourth wall a couple of times and no one's pulled me up on it yet. That's all I'm gonna say. But the most outrageous place I think we ever recorded, and this actually came from the mind of the man I'm gonna talk to next. Pasta Longhorn. Now that was a place we went to where we decided we well, we didn't decide, we'd got seduced by a crazy pastor from the deep south state of Texas. Uh uh and um El Paso, to be precise, without revealing too much about Pasta's former commune, sir, but still a bit shaky. CIA FBI investigation, etc. etc. Um, but um that was semi-orbrain child. Uh it was a scene of the El Paso tapes as well, some experimental kind of out there episodes that kind of came out came from a rant, didn't it? It came from a rant. I fell absolutely in love with the thought. That's exactly where we're setting the show from now on in. And we had the full Kool-Aid moments, mate. It was an absolutely genius location to set a whole series in as well. We had a series in Farmerton, the OGU origin of the show. We got all sort of on top of ourselves and moved to New York, and it was only right and proper that on our celebrity journey we joined a cult, Pastor Longhorn. What a character! One of the most unbelievable people. Uh new law wise, um, unquestionable uh in terms of his untouchability. Um But tell me about tell me tell me he is still out there, destination unknown, the murderer of Stingray, and the reincarnator of Stingray, all in one go. Uh spoilers if you haven't listened to the season art, but uh God knows. Well, of course, you of course you would. And uh tell me about your journey with the show and your relationship with it, good sir. And thank you for joining us. And uh looking forward to getting a little bit of Seb on the regular, ladies and gentlemen.

SPEAKER_02: 1:20:21

It's not it's nothing that that impressive. Ladies and gentlemen, I also host a podcast called the Single Player Experience Podcast, and I was um really just trying to spread my wings and introduce myself to different members of the gaming community. And I had I was driving in the car and I was I can't remember what I was eating at the time, but I was being fat. I know I was fat now, but I was probably eating some fat, um, not a salad to be found. And I had just listened to an episode, I believe it was kind of funny, and they were talking about something or another, and you know, um, as YouTube or as like the recommendations in like the um like in the Spotify and all that kind of does at that time, I believe it was either Spotify or another um podcast hosting or another like a place where you can get all your favorite podcasts, and it the one of the like the UCP was a recommendation that came up, and I was just like, you know what? I listened to an episode and I was just like, I like these guys, these guys got some guys got some soft hair, these guys got some saucier, they just they're just missing something, and I was just like, they don't talk enough enough about indie games, and this guy gets really into the weed about like some really obscure games that he likes to play, and I'm like, I like these guys, I like these. So I reached out to George and I was just like, hey, I'm going to I'm gonna do something for you. I'm gonna give you an episode with yours truly where I'm gonna introduce you to 10 or five or 10 indie games that you need to play, you know, recently that just recently came out from that year. And George liked the idea, he pitched it, he brought me on the show, and for some reason he fell in love with me. And and he wouldn't leave. Dude, the real deal, dude. He wouldn't let me leave. I was a captive. I was like, all right, all right, I guess this is it now. So I and ever since then I've been rolling, rolling hard, you know, like it's it's a car that has been on the road for a long time, and I've enjoyed being in the backseat with my duct tape around my arms and legs, with and I've just been having a good time ever since.

SPEAKER_06: 1:22:32

Beautiful, mate. It's an honor to have you here. Yeah, you give a dimension to the show that really just takes it to the next level, in my opinion. Um without doubt. RGT, pick out another uh where are we? Shall I do it? Do you want to do it? Who shall do it?

SPEAKER_03: 1:22:49

Don't mind.

SPEAKER_06: 1:22:50

I I tell you what, you do HG and I will do my one-man army. How's that sound?

SPEAKER_03: 1:22:57

Yeah, well, um, HG's is sort short and sweet, but he's basically just said, you can't go wrong with a bit of stingray.

SPEAKER_06: 1:23:04

Stingray's getting all the props today. I don't know how I feel about this. Jealous rage. That's all I'll say. Um up next, the aforementioned Carlos to one man George fan club. Thank you for messaging in, good sir. Um I don't think we'd be here with that if I'm honest. But uh he says, I was looking for a new UK-based gaming podcast when I found the UCP. Although my main interest is retro, I was drawn in by all the crazy lore and UC George and UC Tom's humour. The story about George stalking Kojima or some other developer was a highlight. We had to double check that. It was oh god, who was it? Shuye Yoshida that I forced myself upon, um, which I'll be on which I did witness, and yes, he did. Um I was unsure whether he was gonna get tasered or if you're gonna meet a gaming god, you gotta you literally gotta well, you've got to essay him, basically. Getting to hear all the other hosts was great and becoming a Discord member and show supporter, thanks to George, calling me out on the show has been uh great. Love sharing my collection with other members, and I hope the show goes on for another 300. Thanks to everybody. Heart emoji. Uh yeah, that's something I used to do, isn't it? Uh yeah, so well, once again, seems to be a big love of the law. Um, we painted the foundations very deep, so now we just need to put the finials on top, as far as I'm concerned. If you've listened to all of it, uh and and I say something like Deb's Babs, um, that'll pay off for you. Um, if not, um yeah, good luck with that. Probably best place to start will be Christmas at Farmerton, I guess.

SPEAKER_04: 1:24:43

Uh, but you know, that's casket wiped out in that there.

SPEAKER_06: 1:24:50

Okay, yeah. What I would say is the last 30 seconds of that episode uh is haunting. Um RGT, have you got a another memory for us? Oh, it's your beloved. Uh do you want me to put her in my mouth or do you want to put her in yours?

SPEAKER_03: 1:25:15

Um, no, you can. I know it's something you'd like to do. Like a Saturday.

SPEAKER_06: 1:25:19

Okay, no problems. All right. Well, Mrs. RGT got in touch. That's what goes on behind the scenes, guys. Um, it's just the camaraderie and chemistry you guys have. It just works so well and keeps me entertained. She is actually talking about Saturdays.

SPEAKER_03: 1:25:35

Definitely without a doubt. Okay.

SPEAKER_06: 1:25:37

Uh uh, it's um OG Tom. It's gonna be a bit of a heartbelt one here, my good uh cousin pal, or OG, as you are for WrestleMania 3300, as we're at right now. Uh so now we're locking up. Uh we've done the look to the sides, we've got the fans who are an R in for each one of us. I'm the heel that's after all this time needs to be taken down to Pound Town. And as if by magic you've appeared on a zipline, just the man to do it. Centre stage, biggest audience you've ever wrestled in front of. Um tell me about your thoughts about the show and and your or just any emotion that you might want to share, mate, really.

SPEAKER_04: 1:26:25

Um obviously when you asked me to to come on back on for this 300th show, um it made me think a lot about kind of where we all started and how it began. Um, in in um the back room, you drove over in your car with a bootload of um hooky recording equipment, uh, which I still see has served you well right now.

SPEAKER_06: 1:26:49

Um this show is firmly rooted in 2014 recording tech, and uh I do believe it's now part of the kind of ethos of the show. You can't be any better than this now. It ain't the playing mav, it's the pilot.

SPEAKER_07: 1:27:02

It's the pilot.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:04

Um, so yeah, he he turns up at the door, he's got uh some um rather uh strange looking equipment, and I'm like, he's like, we're doing the podcast. Okay, come in. So we're set up. We'd we'd we'd worked on a little bit of a script, haven't we?

SPEAKER_06: 1:27:22

Um that's done us real well because I still use it.

SPEAKER_04: 1:27:28

Yeah, I think the I think the often with a lot of our uh favourite whether it be shows, video games, um music, uh a lot of cultural things tend to have that stability point. And I think for a lot of your listeners that has been the core thing is the stability of the show, the way it opens and closes, the um obviously the the presenters have changed over the over the years, um, but you've always been the um linchpin, I suppose, the the the um race stunts of the group of the U-boat gap the U The U-boat cap sitting um and just yeah um ever ever present and um serving his time. And you just sold me on the idea of it when we first started, and I was like, okay, well yeah, we can take our conversations that we've had about video games. We share a passion for that and always have done. And to me, that's been an important part of of my life, but through ups and downs of um just that again going back to that word stability of of when I call you, no matter what's going on in my life, I don't know we can have a chat about video games, and it just I come off the come off the phone and feel a little bit lighter about um world. And uh I think that originally transferred well into the show, um and then obviously the the law kind of took um took directions we never thought it'd go, and people seem to people seem to enjoy it. We were making new characters every week. Oh, we were like a factory, character factory, right? Every name had to rhyme. Um and then uh you were telling me how like we were uh recruiting um people into this Discord and how you would I think when you started, you originally wanted to just have at least one person meet you and go, I really enjoy the show, it means a lot, it makes me feel better about myself, or gives me um at the end of the day, we're looking for our tribe to some extent of people who share a passion or a hobby. Um, and I think you've helped all of you, Seb RGT, Bobby, anybody else involved with the show has really helped people find that and find a um central point where they can all share that passion and love of uh probably one of the greatest art forms, and severely I wouldn't say underrated but underappreciated. It gets a bad rap sometimes because people are people and they just want to judge and label and so forth. But I love video games, I probably always will. Um and it it's a it's always been a passion to me. It's one of the best forms of art going. It you can be a wizard, you can be a warrior, you can be an astronaut, you can be a footballer, you can be anything you want to be. You boat you can be a U-boat captain, gold miner, and gold miner, cowboy, and it it it sucks you farmer, sucks you in and just um lets you experience things that eventually you might not get to experience. And and the stories we those stick with us. There's things we can all sit and discuss like in great detail about how those experiences made us feel and um what we gained from them, and um yeah, just some phenomenal memories, and to get the opportunity to discuss that in person um with one of my closest friends and family members was a real privilege. Um and at times, yeah, we're both knackered, and I probably didn't want to like really just give it our all, but we tried. Um and I'm so glad you persevered with it because I think you've got a great group around you, um, and the guys just seem a perfect fit for the show. Um it's obviously engaging and interesting, and it has um a little bit of something for everybody. Um yeah, obviously Stingray, he he came from a um for those who don't know, he was a video delivery man uh of probably questionable origins of the video tapes. Um and he used to go around and and rent out videos um around our local villages. And uh yeah, we decided he was gonna be a character. And yeah, I just he was like our stick, wasn't he, really? Yeah, naturally I I naturally I enjoy like um the I I always enjoyed the creative part of it a lot, like doing the research for some of the um retro console specials and just really bringing those to life, going down the lift into the um what was the vehicle we had?

SPEAKER_06: 1:32:59

No uh Maestro Turbo.

SPEAKER_04: 1:33:02

Maestro Turbo, um, to go back in time to revisit those launch periods and really.

SPEAKER_06: 1:33:08

I genuinely think they could go back because of the we we talked about season one before being a radio drama. They were, I mean, they're probably a little bit six-form homework now for them, they'd be more appreciated, Lipsener, but we tried, and they've got like the sound effects of the original launch advert for the game that kind of morphed into the time travel sound, and then the sound of us going down the lift to get to this freaking car, and it was hours of work, then we'd get in there and we'd be then living in that universe, or we talked about that retro console. It was that was some good stuff. I mean, I kick myself now because once you've done the history of a console, I think we learned that a bit later on when we started splitting up the history of Capcom, and I still think you owe me the Return of the Jedi, the Capcom trilogy. But you know, I'll let you off. I'll let you off.

SPEAKER_04: 1:33:57

Yeah, I think I think obviously you start out and you have these ideas okay, this month or this week we're gonna do this, and then quickly we were rattling through like um a very young industry to some regard, um, when you compare it to obviously film and music, um, but still one of of great relevance. I think um some of those are really informative and uh very interesting, mixed in with a bit of humour. Um but yeah, going I think in at the deep end, didn't we? We just threw everything at the wall and had a look at what sticked. Um and certain things work, certain things don't, but I'm just really glad you carried it.

SPEAKER_06: 1:34:42

More characters, George, no less characters, Tom. More characters, George, and then I get I end up creating more characters than you.

SPEAKER_04: 1:34:49

The book of the law that is probably as thick as a um uh a bungalow right now.

SPEAKER_06: 1:34:55

But Digital Munker is meant to be going through and writing it all down and cataloguing it up. He doesn't know that he's meant to be doing this, but he is.

SPEAKER_03: 1:35:02

Um it sounds like uh good luck with that, DM.

SPEAKER_04: 1:35:07

Yeah, that sounds like a a uh a challenge to say the least.

SPEAKER_06: 1:35:12

An enjoyable pursuit of a gentleman. Yeah, um, yeah. I'm gonna take a listener comment, if I may. I'm gonna I'm gonna throw my beautiful red-headed stepson Ginge into the four. And he says, I just love being part of this great community. Such a lovely little man, isn't he? He's not little, by the way, he's massive, and I don't mean fat. This guy's ripped. He flexes a bicep, and all of a sudden you've had 12 inches of snow in Glasgow. It's a sort of effect he has on the universe. Um, the show always makes me laugh. I love you, son. Uh, and here's to many, many years with all involved. Smiling with shades, cool man emoji.

SPEAKER_03: 1:35:50

Um me to read another one as well. Should I read DMs?

SPEAKER_06: 1:35:55

Yeah, let me pull up a few.

SPEAKER_03: 1:35:57

Um it's a it's a biggie. Hello, it's a slight blood video. Let me just turn the chair around. I'll clear my throat. Right, and this is from Digit Mungrey, the other one of the Winchester boys who looks after the dog damn! Um, he says, I was a young boy of 34. I had a small game collection and a tiny Instagram account that I used to share my games and my painted consoles and controllers on. Then one day, 328 weeks ago, I had a comment on a photo saying stalker U-boat captain's back. Um if you add the hashtag at hashtag Stingrays Boot, we can shake you out your pickups um and your page next episode. I ignored this. My post kept getting the same comment, and I decided to give it a go because of the persistence slash grooming.

SPEAKER_01: 1:36:54

I'm embarrassed.

SPEAKER_03: 1:36:56

Having never listened to a podcast before. I was on a course for work, but had to park 40 minutes away, so had a few weeks off listening to UC George and uh Bobby recording a show from New York. I lurked in the background for nearly a year before summoning a confidence to join the Discord, and it's been one of the best things I've ever done. I've encountered many like-minded people. Um I would have uh I wouldn't have come across otherwise. I've met some of them, travelled all over the country to go to expos, which is something I'd never have considered before. I've even got to meet the nicest gent in gaming, RGT. You're too kind.

SPEAKER_06: 1:37:34

Too true.

SPEAKER_03: 1:37:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 1:37:36

You are the you are the face stroke. You're the heel to us, but you're the face to the community.

SPEAKER_03: 1:37:42

Uh the community has has uh here has helped me through some of the toughest times in life I've ever experienced. Um, they're all wonderful. I've made some generally great friends um and boba, though being uh pestered on Instagram. Um I love coming up with the challenges for people to join in with and love getting um to be a part of it. Um I've rambled on far too long for now, so I'll sign off. Thanks everyone. Thank you, DM. It's very kind. Thank you to DM and and things like that that makes it worthwhile to me. There's two things.

SPEAKER_06: 1:38:20

Thank you to everyone who's messaged in, if I'm honest with you. Uh I love seeing there's one more there is uh what from um Captain Scarlet.

SPEAKER_03: 1:38:33

Yeah, uh I was just gonna say, sorry, uh with DM with what he said. Um there's two things I love about it. That is when you see people, you when you're just looking through Discord and you're seeing all these people that have made friends because of the show, and they meet up and they you know they're now good friends, that makes it all worthwhile to me. And the other thing is when you do a show, I'm never the most confident of people, and I've pushed myself to do this, um, and I've loved every minute of it. I really enjoy doing it, it's given me a new challenge and something to do. And when occasionally you'll get a message of someone saying, That show was brilliant last week, really enjoyed that, and it just makes you feel so good that someone out there is listening and enjoy it. It doesn't matter if it's one person or a thousand people, but you just get that comment where you just say, 'I really enjoyed that show,' and you think you're doing something decent in the world and you're doing something that people enjoy, and it makes it all worthwhile. But yeah, thank you, DM, and thanks for you do, as always.

SPEAKER_06: 1:39:29

Yes, thank you. Um Discord would be we were tumbleweeds if it wasn't for the Winchester boys and exactly DM's challenge accepted. So let's uh wood off our cap to those fine gentlemen. Another character here, Captain Scarlet. Uh he's not running from the Mr. Ons, he's running into our arms. Overall, the show has been a comfort for me, taking my mind off really we can say it now, shit things. As for a specific example, uh Listening to the quiz episode springs to mind as I think it was my first. I remember it making me smile and it got my mind thinking of the answers to the questions. Focus in my brain is what I desperately needed. Since then, I've joined this Discord and it's enhanced my gaming enjoyment and made me want to win every challenge accepted and made me miss my old PS5 way too much. I believe in the show and want it to thrive as much as possible. I've been working on things behind the scenes, trying to do my bit. That has also given me some much needed focus in driving dark times. So thank you, UCP and Discord Heart Emoji. I missed out the laughing with tears emoji. Captain Scarlet, thank you. And you and I have spoken off air, and I'm glad that we can be of comfort to you. But one of the most exciting things there is that he has been working behind the scenes on something for us, RGT, has he not?

SPEAKER_03: 1:40:51

Yes, he certainly has. He's put a lot of work into something which we've had chugging away in the background for probably 18 months now, but trying to keep it.

SPEAKER_06: 1:41:01

Actually, RGT. I initially paid the first check for that 300 episodes ago. Yes.

SPEAKER_03: 1:41:09

And it's gone through various guises, and we haven't launched it because just not being happy with it, not having the knowledge, not having the people round. And then uh Captain jumps up and just says, This is what I do, you know. I'm doing a you know, I'm doing a uh course in this. Can I be of any assistance? And it was like he'd been sent down from heaven himself. There's the codes, there's the codes, fella. Get type and see what you come back with. I reckon he'd done more in three days on this project than I'd done in 18 months, and at a very high standard. Come back, how's this? How's that? I've added this animation, I've added these graphics, I've done this, I've done that, and I'm like, Wow, you are an absolute legend. I love you to fits. You that is brilliant. And well, do you want to say what it is? I mean, I've probably given the game away now, but no, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_06: 1:41:59

I want you to say what it is, and then I want you also to unveil, because I think we've got for the subs, which we're gonna get to, they've got something coming up soon to celebrate this very episode, or have I got this wrong and dropped us all in? I shouldn't have said it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:42:13

No, no, we have um because I don't actually have any idea what's going on. We we um first of all, what I'll say is for the subs is we have had some very special artwork done, um, some great artwork, which involves the subs themselves as well. So they'll be able to see their name on this artwork. Um I have got three samples coming of what I'm gonna do, but everyone who is a sub is gonna get a little present of this artwork. What I think I probably know what it's gonna be, but I'll hang for it at a moment in case it doesn't happen. But you will get an extra little present just to say thanks. Thanks for being a sub and thanks for being involved on the 300th episode. Um, so keep an eye on um Discord because that'll that'll start coming to a fray soon. Um, and next up, our project is the unofficial controller podcast website. Um which is by now's website, yes, which is 99.9% done. Um Captain's done an absolutely fantastic job of this. Um, from our bios to history of the show to the different pages, and yeah, it's it's good. It's still a work, it's launching very uh a very high standard, but there is things we're gonna be added and there'll be things taken off. It'll be a work in progress by all means.

SPEAKER_06: 1:43:37

We've got all of Seb's Seb's the background puppet master. We've got all of Seb's ideas to implement. Some of those were bangers. I think we've got some extra content that we're gonna start stitching into the Unglorious in a real live look at the car crash behind the scenes what I actually do play. Uh so yeah, I quite like the idea of that. That'd be quite fun.

SPEAKER_03: 1:43:59

Yeah, uh, we'll we'll be implementing more things if we'll be putting um links on so you'll be able to click on the latest show, and that'll take you straight to Spotify or wherever to do that. Um we'll link up um Seb's show on there, single player. You can jump on and listen to Seb's Fantastic Show. Cool. Um, there'll be the YouTube bits, there'll be different pages. Happy with that. Good. We'll be doing game reviews up and bits and pieces. So as it evolves, um, we'll probably get I'm looking at getting a guest review in every now and then as well. So maybe OG Tom can jump on and do us a review if he's got a new game or so and so, whatever. You know, we'll we'll be putting different bits on there.

SPEAKER_06: 1:44:34

Slip on some slippers and grab a pipe. As me, OG, take you on a journey through silk song.

SPEAKER_04: 1:44:44

I'm a very, I'm a very mediocre gamer, truth be told. Like, I have to really persevere with games like when Seb was talking earlier, and I'm sorry to uh change topic quickly, RG. I was like, I was like, I genuinely have to try so so hard at those like repeating boss battle after boss battle. Like, come on, just this one time, come on. I usually find when I wake up in the morning as well, like I'll hit it now, just quick half an hour in the morning. I usually find that is peak. Yeah, have a break and come back. Yeah, honestly, it's I always said to you have a brew, go have a brew, yeah. Just just get out of that cycle and go. No, come back to that, and you come back at it, and you just something clicks, and you like it is a great feeling. Um, mate, this is this this is self-indulgence.

SPEAKER_02: 1:45:34

You you're a gamer, man. You're a gamer gamer.

SPEAKER_06: 1:45:36

Like, don't tell him that's tough one. That's a tough one. Let me tell you the emotional journey I go on with a boss sometimes. Like, for some reason, when I first get to a boss, I I I don't call it blind look, beginner's look, or whatever. I don't even know what it is, and I'm sure other people have this experience. You end up sort of getting almost halfway into his like hit bar, you're like, Oh wow, yeah, well, and I got killed, right? Well, now I know what I need to do. Yeah, you get back into it, and he just crushes you like a bug, yeah. Like Lucas crushing Jurassic World, it's like a little bug, like a bug, yeah, just smash. And it's like, well, what did I do so wrong? It was the bravado, was it the stopping the moment that kind of brought me out of it? I don't know. But then no matter what you do, you can't even get him down more than two pixels. Like, what has happened to me?

SPEAKER_04: 1:46:20

There is there is there is a few better things in gaming life when you just get in that zen moment and everything just flows, and you just like just absolutely demolish whatever challenge is in front of you, and then the next day you turn into Mr. Bean and you're just like, What's going on? Come on, Mr. Bean. Um, where were we? Because we've gone all over.

SPEAKER_03: 1:46:49

But um it's been a lot of work. Um it have your hidden gems on it. There is a page for those, yes, as well. Um I'll I'll jump in before you start tacking the Mickey saying that you haven't had one for six months. I know that's part of my new year game resolution. I will be having one every month. I will.

SPEAKER_06: 1:47:09

What do you reckon to this new kind of like cowboy? This is basically a U-boat captain with his hand on the periscope type look. Just sort of role-playing it if we want to get on the game later.

SPEAKER_03: 1:47:19

Yeah, I can imagine.

SPEAKER_04: 1:47:20

I'm surprised you're not in uniform, but I didn't expect like uh a cream cream roll neck sweater with a blue like overcoat and a hat.

SPEAKER_06: 1:47:32

Yeah. Do you think I do not own these items of clothing? I thought I'd I pretty much guarantee you did.

SPEAKER_03: 1:47:37

I guarantee you will be sitting in them.

SPEAKER_06: 1:47:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 1:47:41

Um, but uh yeah, so yeah, there will be that section on there. There's various different sections. Um just again, thanks to Captain for bringing this all together with his very hard work. And thank you to Captain his expertise to bringing that together in a very short space of time. Basically gone bang, bang, bang. Right, guys, it's ready. You're like, whoa, hold on. And then you start looking at it thinking, I I could never have made anything like this for the show. I couldn't have done it. Um, it's fantastic, and it's gonna be a great another little hub for the for the gamers to go to and check out and before we before we do any more, I I'd like to just can I just have a little moment?

SPEAKER_06: 1:48:24

I wanna have a little moment. I just want to say guys ladies. Thank you. Episode 300, I never thought would get here, to be honest with you. You kind of heard Tom's thoughts on what I thought the show would be initially, and if one person messaged me, we've had numerous people message saying that we've helped in some way, and I'll be honest, it it lifts me. And we've had a rip-roaring time doing the show. Um, but there's been so many names along the way that have touched the show, been involved in the show. I said a few earlier, we've got Finchie, we've got Daddy Zilla, and obviously you guys can punch in with the names as and when you see fit, but we've got Finster, uh Roast Basemunk, we've got all those names of the OG, Rios, SA Rios, mate. Absolutely forgot about SA Rios.

SPEAKER_04: 1:49:16

Sensei Rios.

SPEAKER_06: 1:49:18

He still listens, Sensei Rios still listens.

SPEAKER_04: 1:49:21

Excellent.

SPEAKER_06: 1:49:23

Uh so he was I remember what the lore is of Sensei Rios. That was a deep, a deep cut. And I just, you know, want to say to everybody that's helped us in any way along the way, uh, we're very grateful to every single one of you. You've listened, you've helped, you've supported, you've supported each other, you've supported me along the way, you support us all, and we're super grateful and we'll keep punching this stuff out until you say stop. Um, simple as that. Uh except we keep finding more people, so I don't know whether it's ever stop.

SPEAKER_03: 1:49:59

I think what it is as well is um, you know, we we do two shows now, two shows a week. It's it is a lot of work. Um it's it's fun work, but it is a lot of work to get all together, to record, to write the shows. Um, and I love doing it, but it's that community is the reason why we keep doing it. When all these people that have helped us along the way, the people that are all chatting away in Discord, when you see that, that's what gives me at least the inspiration just to keep going. Because you know these people love it and they love listening to it, and it makes it so worthwhile doing it that you don't mind all that extra time and work that you put into doing it. So, uh, yes, thanks for everyone. Whether you're just a silent in the background listener or someone who's involved or someone who's helped, brilliant. Love you all, absolutely fantastic.

SPEAKER_06: 1:50:46

A few thousand hours of content, I'd imagine, over the what how many years have we been going? Six, seven, seven years.

SPEAKER_03: 1:50:54

In the seventh year now, I think.

SPEAKER_06: 1:50:55

Oh my god. Okay, moving on. Let's uh that's perseverance or ignorance, uh, call it what you like. Um, I think we've got to the section of the show where we need to thank our individual listeners for their their wonderful, uh, wonderful support, and we do that through the medium of reading their names out, right? Um, are we episode 300 a straight dry run through, or are we something else?

SPEAKER_03: 1:51:27

What would you what I think we do a straight run through um as a climax on a zange. A climax on a zangief.

SPEAKER_06: 1:51:35

Okay, so roll the dice. We've never put this many people in the Zangief machine before. Um I'm a little nervous to see what comes of this, but uh let's go. So I'm gonna start off by saying thank you to the immortal Captain Scarlet. Thank you for what you've done. Thank you for listening.

SPEAKER_03: 1:51:52

Um, I'll go second and I'll say thank you to the awesome retro ed. Um, one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

SPEAKER_06: 1:51:58

Um, Art Attack video is freaking awesome retro ed. When I said to you, I would do I owe you for that video, tell me. I don't know. So give me 20 quid. Uh but uh yeah, that video is absolutely banging and right up past the street and a great help for us with Flashy B. So we're very, very grateful. Super uh if you ever want to do anything like that to us again, like literally make me ridiculous, stitch my words back so I say that I love RGT's like schlong or something like that. I'm up for it. Although I just made that very easy for you. So find the words in other episodes. Um who's next? Uh Seb, who's on your list? Carlos. Carlos, Carlos, the one man George fan club. I actually uh think we've glared in the setup here where Tom has managed to escape this by not having the list. So I am going to forward it to him. Save it, image saved. Go to me over. I'm doing it, I'm working on it. I'm I'm I'm working here, I'm working on it.

SPEAKER_02: 1:53:10

Yeah while George is working on that. I have a question for you, RGT. Yep. Did you see the new PlayStation controllers that just were announced? The gradients, the gradients, yeah, yeah. The gradient ones, they're there's like gradient green, gradient graphics.

SPEAKER_06: 1:53:26

I would I would love one of those for my pro set, except they decided to only make it for the slim. So if you're an OGLE adopter, if you've decided to hawk even more of your hard-earned wages at the uh corporate shield that is sewing, you may find yourself a little bit unfortunately sat with the same white base plates, uh leaving me feeling a little bit sore.

SPEAKER_02: 1:53:46

I might still have the controller, you just won't have the matching plate with it, but you still have the controller.

SPEAKER_06: 1:53:51

I I wonder if they might do a new front visor to match it for the PSVR2. You can live in hope, can't you?

SPEAKER_03: 1:53:57

This is gonna sit through for the V. This is gonna sound quite bad because I did I've slightly customized my PS5, so I've got the cosmic plates and it sits on a on a light, and I've also got a light up PlayStation symbol, which I fitted as well. I know it's terrible.

SPEAKER_06: 1:54:13

I'm a 47-year-old man, I don't need to be customising my console, but anyway, I have I would have said if I had met your daughter, I'd want living proof that your hymen had been broken.

SPEAKER_03: 1:54:25

There we go. Clip that one retro red. Um but the thing is it sits in a light stand, right? And I have to cycle through to get the red, so then it's a red PlayStation symbol, cosmic red plates, and I need to cycle through to get the red on the bottom because it always defaults to blue, so I might get the blue plates, so then I haven't got to get up and turn the light over to oh that's so cool.

SPEAKER_02: 1:54:48

I I have met black and get this guy ripped out, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 1:54:58

Yeah, so there you are. Three episode 300 confessions, there you go. So yeah, I might get the blue ones.

SPEAKER_06: 1:55:04

Thing is, to be fair, I rip you, but it's a sort of weird shit I would do. So yeah, and and mate, I'm dressed as a Ubo Captain, hosting the podcast. So what leg have I got to stand on? It was the death of Prince Harry's career, it'll be the uh it'll be the death of mine. Where do we get to on this list?

SPEAKER_02: 1:55:18

What? Um I believe oh geez, your dirt.

SPEAKER_06: 1:55:21

Yeah, no, he's oh yeah, yeah, oh yeah, because he's playing room.

SPEAKER_04: 1:55:24

Firm returns, I think. Okay, so we finished uh we had Carlos. Yeah, I believe. Next up we've got Firm Returns. Thank you. Got Trestles New York.

SPEAKER_02: 1:55:38

Oh, Tom's Tom's got him.

SPEAKER_06: 1:55:39

Oh yeah, roasting it.

SPEAKER_03: 1:55:41

Let's go!

SPEAKER_06: 1:55:42

Yeah, no, slow down. Uh who's got who's next? Seb? Is you next? Oh, is it?

SPEAKER_02: 1:55:48

So I've got the safe. It goes back to you, George.

SPEAKER_03: 1:55:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 1:55:53

And then George, RGT, Seb and then OG. OG, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:55:59

Okay, fine.

SPEAKER_06: 1:56:01

Uh so oh it do I say row space monk? Is that it? Is that what I need to do? Reboot, reboot. What have I done?

SPEAKER_05: 1:56:11

Rewind. Rewind. All right. Brestles.

SPEAKER_03: 1:56:16

So I'll do I'll do uh roast space monk. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00: 1:56:21

Oh, this is next up we've got Tingle Tuner.

SPEAKER_06: 1:56:41

You've evolved as a human being, do you know that?

SPEAKER_03: 1:56:50

I think it's George next.

SPEAKER_05: 1:56:52

Is it? Oh, so let me let me uh let me pull on uh Stetson as I say Nast to see Damn Winchester, where's your brother? I don't know, I think that's all I got for you today.

SPEAKER_03: 1:57:07

Um then we have a bald border, thank you as always. The other part of the Winchester boys go in brash.

SPEAKER_06: 1:57:25

Thank you, Kenj, for your support. I love you so much. Uh which means I get to caress the beautiful, yet extremely dark and malevolent, but in a good way. He'll protect his friends, but he'll crucify his enemies. It's Harvey Retro.

SPEAKER_03: 1:57:44

Then we have the wonderful Emma Sharp. Thank you, Emma.

SPEAKER_06: 1:57:49

Tom? Any questions? Nowhere near. Any questions for Emma?

SPEAKER_04: 1:57:58

Hi. James Bond's gone out of the window.

SPEAKER_03: 1:58:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04: 1:58:04

Yeah. Smooth as sandpaper.

SPEAKER_06: 1:58:07

Um she's not on the apps, by the way, just to confirm. I know you've been waiting 56 episodes to get that confirmed. Yeah, no longer on the apps.

SPEAKER_03: 1:58:16

So never was. No, never there. No.

SPEAKER_06: 1:58:19

Well, it's never on the apps.

SPEAKER_03: 1:58:21

Um just uh just a little UCP fantasy.

SPEAKER_04: 1:58:25

They're the most challeng they're the most challenging video game you'll ever face.

SPEAKER_06: 1:58:29

Um what's happened? Uh who's next? Is it me? No, it can't be. You get him a sharp Seb's nowhere near Believe. Yeah, I already near nowhere near Berlin. Okay, which means Tom, you get I've seen she is the most wonderful.

SPEAKER_04: 1:58:51

Giving, caring, mumsy.

SPEAKER_06: 1:58:56

Oh okay, Serene. We got a moment for you. Um, I get the RGT fan club, still in legal wranglings with them to break up and individually sub, like my man Carlos, but you know, whatever. Um I'd like to see the whole village of farmers and wearing one tee, seeing as we're getting all super generous. Uh it doesn't work in their benefit, then, does it? Got timeshare on a half-ass t-shirt.

SPEAKER_03: 1:59:26

Yeah, they have a week each, as long as you wash it and pass it on.

SPEAKER_06: 1:59:30

Say half ass, it's not half past at all. That's actually disrespectful. Um to myself.

SPEAKER_03: 1:59:36

So next I've got Pete Brocklehurst. Thank you very much, Pete.

SPEAKER_06: 1:59:40

What did he kick this week?

SPEAKER_03: 1:59:42

Um, he was uh doing keepy uppies with breeze blocks.

SPEAKER_06: 1:59:46

So just a just a normal Sunday afternoon. Yeah, he didn't want to go too too. That's light. That's light for him. Okay. Uh Seb, who you got?

SPEAKER_00: 1:59:55

Billy, Billy, my mate.

unknown: 1:59:59

Oh.

SPEAKER_06: 2:00:00

Now we rolled the dogs at the start of the show. And you what you don't know, Tom, is although everyone um we're contractually obliged to read everybody's name out, uh Fat Zangief pays extra. He doesn't, but yeah, yeah. Uh and he he requests that his name is read out um in a similar way to uh uh a sexual climax, really. I don't know why I'm keeping it PG when I don't need to, but I'm kind of keeping it PG to be semi-respectful. So when I said, and we've all took a role in this barrel, this isn't just to wind up a setup, you can go listen to last week's episode, the week before that, the week before that, the week before that. This has been going on a long time. And it's took the guise now of me or RGT or Seb giving the direction um to the incumbent speaker of the Fatzang or the screamer of the Fat Zangief, a little bit of direction. Uh set the scene, set the stage. So this Fat Zangief is uh what I'm looking for you here. I know your methods, so you just lock yourself down in the zone and think about this. This fatzang is one that's is you've had some this is the character, right? You've had you've had uh you're a busy guy, you're kind of working a job, um it's in London, it's it's big stocks and shares, it's up in the morning, early doors, five. No, you're getting up at four to do your gym, your lemon fresh press, do your face massive appeal. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. You've gone to work, you've done the high power thing, you've gone full on at it, you you've come, you you know, you're feeling like the guy out of Wolf on Raw Street, to be honest. Um, except things start to go a little bit wrong at night time. You've ended up in a nightclub, you're absolutely two sheets of wood. No, actually, you're ten sheets of the wood, you can barely stand. And in that that sort of small window of time, it's got to two o'clock, it's a Wednesday, you shouldn't really be this wasted, but you are.

SPEAKER_02: 2:02:05

And someone's given direction right now, yeah.

SPEAKER_06: 2:02:09

Someone got lost, it goes very in-depth. Someone's giving you looks from the side of the bar. She's not your normal caliber of character, but you you you you you're too gone to care. You end up back at her place. It's um, I'll be honest with you, it's it's very unkempt. You probably walked over two or three catalytic trays just to get to the door. Um, you're in anyway, you're there, and you're in the moment. Now, this moment comes at simultaneous sobering of what you realise what you're sangiefing with. Uh, and obviously you've seen the storyboard, it's not great. So um you signal to me, I'll say action, and you just give us a fat sangif that kind of matches that.

SPEAKER_04: 2:02:56

Uh babooska if you want to wrestle with that.

SPEAKER_02: 2:03:09

Write that man a check right now.

SPEAKER_00: 2:03:11

Write him a check.

SPEAKER_06: 2:03:15

This man's got a career. He obviously got lost halfway through the direction as well. Um that's so fine. He paid for it, he got it, he got he got I I d I mean that was incredible. Uh wow. Fat Zangief probably gonna sue us. Uh about listening. How about not once not one single scream? Here we want this three pound back.

SPEAKER_02: 2:03:37

Uh okay, you give a fat gifted zangifief for us.

SPEAKER_06: 2:03:41

You want me to zange? Yeah, hit him with a Zangief. Oh, I'll I'll give you the Zangief with what that Zangeef as a director obviously, what I was looking for from like from Surian Sarre and Okay, okay. I was going more smooth and sensual. I don't know what part of that was smooth and sensual because I think I think it was a little bit more like a fat Zang. But you know, I'm just a bit playing at it on this end of the camera, capturing your magic. And you give me babushka, I'll make it work. Edit, editing, editing, editing, editing, editing, insert your own thing. Done. Uh CGI Tom's mouth. It'll be cheaper. Give me the crayons, George. Give me the crayons. Um, I think that brings us to an end of what can only be described as possible.

SPEAKER_04: 2:04:32

I want to hear it. I want to hear it. I want to know what this is, what you were expecting.

SPEAKER_06: 2:04:38

What I just did. Where he mumbled in the incident. It was the kind of thing if you're having a pleasurable moment, but then the sort of booze wore off, and you were like, Thank you, oh god. That's yeah. Mine was a bit too on the nose comedy styling, but obviously, I was looking to you to you know give me a Stephen Graham type interpretation of this proceedings. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Bit of post-Griham clarity, if I'm honest with you. There's uh there's someone listed right now who's just sat up and gone Stephen Graham, George. That's very self-indulgent, love you.

SPEAKER_04: 2:05:13

Yes, as more Graham from accounts.

SPEAKER_06: 2:05:16

Oh, wow. Okay. Well, you you nailed it. You've looked in that mug six times, it's empty and it's not filling up. So let's get you set, let's get you out of here, pal. As I ask you, actually, before we do that, just want to thank everyone. Uh, it's a bit of a self-indulgent episode, I admit, but you can't celebrate your own history without celebrating your own history. And uh I mean, we basically got around in a circle joke, but it was great. Um, Tom, OG, what are you hoping to play?

SPEAKER_04: 2:05:44

Uh progress a bit further in Expedition 33 and see where the story goes. Now you're playing that. I uh for those who come after, for those who come after.

SPEAKER_06: 2:05:56

Now you're playing that. I want that. And now I'm willing to be angry for it.

SPEAKER_04: 2:06:01

Sink the Yubo, it's gone. To the bottom of the trend.

SPEAKER_06: 2:06:05

You don't know, you don't know you weren't there, but I am currently on the PS app with it hovering on the buy now option. So just do it. Do it. Do you have Game Pass?

SPEAKER_02: 2:06:18

I've got I've seemingly got it on a game trial. Um I was just like, it's all in there. You can at least try it out. I've got to go upstairs. I was like, try it out for two hours and then you're looking at a man that's so lazy he refuses to go upstairs.

SPEAKER_04: 2:06:34

I I had this thing and it it made it reminded me of it earlier when RTC was saying about the Final Fantasy demo. I feel if I play a demo I it almost ruins the experience sometimes, but I also understand the necessity to if you're on the fence about one of them, a particular game, you're like, I want to try it as a demo, but I very rarely when it's a game, I pretty much 90% I'm gonna get that. I never try it because I'm just like I don't want it to ruin that launch day experience of that game.

SPEAKER_06: 2:07:17

It would be like getting a master system for Christmas and opening up a week before the delete the game, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_04: 2:07:25

He's got history, he's got history, he's got form, he middled on that.

SPEAKER_06: 2:07:29

Yeah, bite boxing that master system when it went back in.

SPEAKER_04: 2:07:32

So yeah, I'll be playing playing some more of that. Um probably I'm very tempted to try ball pit now after the conversation earlier.

SPEAKER_02: 2:07:43

It's very good, very good. It's so good, it is. I would say though, don't try it out because you're playing Expedition 33, and I I kind of want you to see that through. Okay, focus on that. Um, I'll be unless you need a pick-up and play game, you know.

SPEAKER_04: 2:07:57

I I do like to have a bit of both, having a big story game, and then just that pick-up and play if I've got 20 minutes half an hour just to um have a blast on that. And I found Hades 2 really good for that because the runs are designed to be 20 minutes half an hour max. Um, so that was that was enjoyable. And um yeah, I might do some of the endgame content with that, um, try out some of the different builds. Uh and yeah, I'm just looking forward to the the year ahead in gaming. I don't know if you guys are gonna be touching on that in the next few weeks, but I think there's some big 2026 is looking like a big year for the I wanted to do that episode bad.

SPEAKER_02: 2:08:37

I I'm also you know I also know who I'm messing with here. George ain't gonna touch a 2026 game very much very very much.

SPEAKER_04: 2:08:44

I'm like in my play station in five years' time, maybe. Uh back to 2026.

SPEAKER_06: 2:08:50

Um that's exactly how this is gonna go. But we could get well, you know, we we can uh OG Tom, you know, stick around a while. In fact, what you're thinking, you walked in, the door locked, you can't leave, you got out once, it's not happening again.

SPEAKER_04: 2:09:06

A quick question to you then before I sign off with because that's what I've been playing. Very quick fire to all three of you. What game are you most looking forward to in 2026? Quick question, quick answer, just to get a general feel.

SPEAKER_02: 2:09:24

Oh, am I going first? Yeah, yeah, you go first, Mike. Okay. Mainstream or deep cut? Anything. You go with anything you do. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Um if I'm being honest, based on quality, based on quality, and based on if I think this game is actually going to land this year and what is actually gonna be put out as far as like the studio's uh track record, I'm gonna say Wolverine.

SPEAKER_04: 2:09:57

Oh, yeah, nice. Yeah, good choice. Tasty. I'm excited to see that. RGT, what's the case? Okay, chat RGT, yeah.

SPEAKER_03: 2:10:06

Um yeah, I was obviously it's GTA 6, but I think that's being delayed again as of recording. This could be pushed to 2027.

SPEAKER_02: 2:10:15

Um November right now of 2026.

SPEAKER_03: 2:10:18

I'd heard some news today as of recording that it might be pushed back to 27. So um, but on I I think the game that's really got me interested is uh James Bond. Um I'm quite intrigued by that, yeah. So uh yeah, we'll we'll see on that. But um, I was sort of hoping for the third part of the game.

SPEAKER_06: 2:10:37

They gotta do something with Bond in that game, mate, because he looks like the OG Peter Parker Spider-Man.

SPEAKER_03: 2:10:43

He does. Yes, he does, yeah. It's an absolute disgrace. They need to use Tom's face. There you go.

SPEAKER_06: 2:10:49

Yeah, exactly. They want that. They want Suave, they want Debonair, they've got the voice, they've got the whole package according to Sev. I mean, I wouldn't want to go into his man cave post this episode. It's gonna be like a montage like Alan Partridge, like a montage Tom on a wall. Sev's like who's Alan Partridge, don't worry about it. Um what am I looking forward to? Yeah, getaway too. No, I'm joking, G26. If that comes out, if not I yeah, what's your backup?

SPEAKER_02: 2:11:23

Oh is it gonna be Fable, Halo Gears? Yeah, you got some big hit, it's on the Xbox. Oh yeah, is it gonna be Mario goes to the bank?

SPEAKER_06: 2:11:42

Are you ready? This is for you, this is Seb. This is for you, because this is a sort of cross no no no, this is a sort of cross-genre shizzle you're into, baby. I'm gonna pick up MLB26 on the switch 2.

SPEAKER_02: 2:11:56

So it's wild, but I I respect it. It's wild, I respect it. You truly you're just double down on the oh yeah, because I'll have to get it.

SPEAKER_06: 2:12:06

I'll have to get it on PS5. But never has uh Cloud Play ever looked so enticing to me. Because instead of like taking your PS5 journey on the go on the Switch and looking like you're playing it on quote unquote Tom C Fax, looks like bamboozle, uh, it's now gonna look like half decent, like you're playing it on PS4 in your pocket. So yeah, I can see some camping holidays where I'm sat on the freshly cut grass with that out, uh the game on the switch too.

SPEAKER_02: 2:12:33

GTA didn't come out this year if it if it's if if the reports today are correct and they just delay it out this year. What do you think is gonna be the best game of this year? Oh, that's a good question.

SPEAKER_03: 2:12:43

I'll be panic panic, everyone trying to release a game this year, I suppose. I think that's swamping out.

SPEAKER_06: 2:12:49

That's gonna be well, I think that's kind of forcing Sony to re-evaluate their whole release schedule. Obviously, you picked out Wolverine. Either that's got to come early or it's gonna have to go late, depending on what goes on with GTA. If it gets I don't think they care. I don't I don't think they care either way. I think it would be a shame for that studio to drop a game out that maybe didn't get the eyes on it deserved. I've seen games get crushed in you know Horizon Zero, didn't it? Horizon Zero Dawn versus Zelda, you know, and the sequel versus whatever it was that was big in that moment, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 2:13:24

It it's similar like but yeah, that's different. I would say like, okay, I think like PlayStation is going to be probably the most well aware because this is the this is the game that's probably gonna push the most units for that particular console. So I would probably say like they can easily let's just say it doesn't get delayed and GTA's November still. Um, I would probably say Wolverine can come out in October and be perfectly fine. I would like to see that because that would wrap up the year for me in a real nice way. Yeah, I think like Sauros is probably coming out in like what March or February, and I'm like, they they got a pretty good year for that's all they need, really.

SPEAKER_06: 2:14:06

To be fair, you touched on Fable. If that actually genuinely came out this year, you know, me and OG Tom were big fans of that game. Um the original on the original Xbox, yeah. Chicken chaser, everybody potions or food, um, and then obviously Fable like Fable 2 was absolutely to me.

SPEAKER_03: 2:14:27

As long as they don't cancel it, say yeah, as long as they don't cancel it, because there's uh there's another hefty uh wave of layoffs coming to Xbox.

SPEAKER_06: 2:14:37

I just think it would be such a big shame. Yeah, that's it. That would be, yeah. Yeah, that's cool. I'd be very intrigued to see that.

SPEAKER_03: 2:14:46

I want I want to see play that, but it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

SPEAKER_02: 2:14:51

Uh I I think that's the safest Xbox game studio right now because that's Playground games, that's the same studio that that pumps out their forces. Yeah, I'm like, they're the they're the golden group goose of Xbox right now. Like even more than Master Games.

SPEAKER_04: 2:15:05

Forza Horizon Japan looks very nice. Yeah, I was just like the big fun.

SPEAKER_02: 2:15:11

They're gonna put out Forza Horizon this year, and I'm like, as long as that game does anywhere near good numbers, which it's gonna kill this year, yeah, they're safe. Well, it'd be multi-format as well, so that's gonna absolutely crush.

SPEAKER_04: 2:15:25

Agreed.

SPEAKER_06: 2:15:27

New setting, multi-franchise. Like, would that even crop its head up on the switch too? Maybe. You never know. That's got some legs in it. That might be the first time we see like a one of their titles go multi-franchise and literally set the world on fire, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 2:15:45

Be interesting to see. The studio, I think, needs to be scarce 343, the Halo studio, the one that's now Halo Studios. I'm like, yeah, that needs to be shaken in his boots at this point. Because I'm like, y'all put out some duds of Halo games, plus like if layoffs do come, I rumored to be 22,000. Yeah, for sure. It's gonna be substantial.

SPEAKER_03: 2:16:05

I think that yeah, they're literally closing two-thirds of their studios.

SPEAKER_02: 2:16:11

So and I hate to say this, I think Undead Labs have taken way too long for their game now. That's the same one that made um It's a State Decay. The State Decay studio, yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, I hate it for them, but I I do not see that studio making it through this. Um yeah, a lot of the the Platinum Coalition team, yeah, that that's gonna be rough on them. What was your what was your um game, George, by the way, if it wasn't if it wasn't GTA?

SPEAKER_06: 2:16:41

See, I couldn't decide. I was I was half cooked between Wolverine and then out of morbid curiosity, if nothing else, as a significant fan of the previous games, although I didn't like three nor the Kinect version. Um Lego Batman. No, mate, it's uh Lego City undercover on the Wii U.

SPEAKER_03: 2:17:01

No, it's uh right guy.

SPEAKER_06: 2:17:04

It's Fable. Uh oh, gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, I'd like I'd just the bits that we've seen where uh Mei Adioli or whatever it is, being the giant and some other bits and bobs like there's some real unique bits in there, and actually a twist on the fable law not ever saw coming, or I didn't anyway. So I'm mildly intrigued. I I like the franchise, like I say, I just want to see it stick the landing. It needs to it it needs to be okay when it comes as well. It does.

SPEAKER_02: 2:17:29

If this if this game hits, like a lot of people who've gotten hands-on with it think it's gonna hit, and that and GTA gets delayed. I think Crimson Desert is officially gonna be game of the year next year. Or this coming.

SPEAKER_06: 2:17:41

Yeah, that that looks good. Doji Tom kind of had his eyes on that to be fair.

SPEAKER_04: 2:17:45

Yeah, uh if it's my GT. That and Phantom Blade, I think, is it? Phantom Blade Blade? Yeah, zero. Yeah, that looks good. Um yeah, it'd be interesting to see what some of the lesser-known studios put out.

SPEAKER_06: 2:18:02

Uh Tom, you're gonna have to set the range on the app s out a bit further to like Texas, so you and Seb can go on a date. Is 50,000 miles a good search radius on that app now, or is it?

SPEAKER_04: 2:18:15

I guess I guess it is. Yeah, I guess it is. It is, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 2:18:19

And based on what I've been hearing, some of these indies, some of these indies, aka the triple I studios, are going to be banging next year. I'm talking about putting out some absolute 10 out of 10 masterpieces.

SPEAKER_06: 2:18:30

Well, straight out the gates and let's let's let's coalesce. We'll get we'll do the Ponzi's next week and then we'll do uh maybe a state of gaming in 2026 if you fancy it. We'll set our doors, stores out early doors, uh, and and see where we're at. Seb on that note, what are you hoping to play for this gaming week?

SPEAKER_02: 2:18:49

Um, um, doom do do. Um hit me up in a minute because I uh I'm trying to remember what is on my give my love to biscuit. He looks like he's sent in the background.

SPEAKER_06: 2:19:03

Biscuit sent in your seat, which is yeah, nice word, biscuit. Uh RGT, what are you hoping to play?

SPEAKER_03: 2:19:09

Um well, as soon as we switch this off, I'm gonna be installing uh rebirth Final Fantasy VII. Um I want to crack straight on with that. Um I did say rebirth, George, rebirth. Um, but yeah, really looking forward to that. Um I'm a bit hooked in hooked in at the moment, so I'm gonna I'm gonna jump onto that.

SPEAKER_06: 2:19:28

So I told you to take a break.

SPEAKER_03: 2:19:31

I know, but some games you just want more of, and I want more.

SPEAKER_06: 2:19:36

Careful what you wish. And I'm agreeing.

SPEAKER_02: 2:19:38

Are you gonna burn yourself out?

SPEAKER_06: 2:19:39

Of course not. Probably pocket him, he's already broken.

SPEAKER_03: 2:19:46

Next week you just see me sitting on here crying with a cloud wig on.

SPEAKER_01: 2:19:51

I don't I don't remember I didn't throw it doing dirty, do it now.

SPEAKER_02: 2:19:57

I don't ru I don't I didn't hear the episodes where you maybe. Talked about the um Ghost of Yote, but did either one of y'all jump into that super hard? Mate, no, I've got it sat throwed away in the cellophane.

SPEAKER_06: 2:20:08

It's just I've I'm doing two shows now, dude. I I I've got one foot in 1995, I've got my head in 2025. I don't know where I am anymore.

SPEAKER_03: 2:20:22

Play the bloody getaway.

SPEAKER_06: 2:20:24

Give me some prayers for your host G Ban G Dog. If everyone else is reinventing themselves, I'll G Dogue in 2020. G-Dog. Spare a thought for your lovely G Dog out here spreading himself that thin. He was even playing the getaway too recently, just to see how you got to do your research. You would have time for these games if you pick up the PS2 and Vita on the time. I'm a dangerous man, I'll be honest with you. Seb, have you had enough time to coalesce on what you're hoping to play?

SPEAKER_02: 2:20:57

Yeah, uh, I was gonna ask OG because OG was gonna say something about the other day. Oh yes, OG.

SPEAKER_04: 2:21:04

Yeah, I'll quickly touch on that. I've I haven't picked it up. It's one game I thought that when a sequel got announced, I'd be all over it. And I just kept watching bits of it, and I just was like, oh yeah, I'm not that fussed. Which was strange because I really enjoyed the first one.

SPEAKER_06: 2:21:23

And it's not dude, you went and bought a sword and hung up that menu from the Chinese restaurant in your bloody gaming room. Yeah. You bought a katana.

SPEAKER_04: 2:21:35

Chinese calendar. Chinese calendar, get it right.

SPEAKER_06: 2:21:38

It's on a Chinese menu.

SPEAKER_04: 2:21:42

Um, so yeah, I just I felt like it was open enough that that story actually would have led into a sequel really well. Because it was obviously a second there was a second invasion of the island, which they could have added a little bit of historical accuracy to and followed on what happens, spoilers, for a however many year old game. Um, but obviously following on from the consequences of your actions as the player, um I think it just had good potential to carry the story on, but again, they went with a different direction. Yeah, I think and and obviously his uncle and the consequences for him and depending on the ending. Um yeah, odd choice to a big different sort of take. It looks very good. I just I don't know. Um just come get sort of into the hype for it.

SPEAKER_02: 2:22:44

RGT and George.

SPEAKER_06: 2:22:46

I probably feel similar. I mean, let's face it, within my backlog of things to get to, it's you know, a couple of games down from the top and keeps remaining so. So look, much like OG Tom, I love the first one. I like the character, you know, a little bit maybe maybe I'm just your stereotypical testosterone fuel gamer. I just wanted to carry on from where I left off. Maybe I didn't want a new story, maybe I didn't want this, maybe I didn't want that. Maybe it's a story that was best left untold, hence why we got this one. I I don't know. I'm looking forward to playing it. I'm very intrigued by it. I think it's gonna be a great cinematic game for me and the wife to sit and play through and enjoy the story beats and kind of see it as like a big season story season to play through, you know. The the ebb and flow of a multiple-hour video game story probably align more to the ebb and flow of a TV series than they ever do to a movie, right? Unless it's a wam-bam Star Wars Outlaws. Buy it now on Switch 2, by the way, with all the DLC included. Uh, probably a great game to take on the go, thanks to our sponsor at Ubisoft. Uh, don't forget Assassin's Creed Shadows also coming out on the Switch 2. If there's a good place to play that game, it's certainly on the Switch 2, the most powerful handheld known to man that's reasonably popular. If you were thinking again the computer video game handheld over the coming year in 2026, you'd do so well as to steer yourself into the Switch 2. We can't get behind the Steam Deck in any way, not because we're endorsed, we're we're endorsed. Uh I'd have to leave the show if we're endorsed by Nintendo.

SPEAKER_02: 2:24:17

I just couldn't do it.

unknown: 2:24:18

I couldn't do it.

SPEAKER_06: 2:24:19

I just couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. Except in reality, we're endorsed by uh electrical contact cleaner manufacturer called Silverhook, who uh where they're from, RGT, because they pay you the check, don't they? Uh well they're based in London, by the same way. Don't spend it all at once, pal.

SPEAKER_03: 2:24:40

No, no gas in pay cash.

SPEAKER_02: 2:24:42

I I asked because I I haven't pulled the trigger yet on Yote either, but it's like right there for the taking. And for some reason, I just like maybe I'll play this, maybe I'll play that. And you ask what am I thinking about playing? And for some reason I'm thinking about playing it, but I don't want to. And it's because I've I got so much garbage earlier in the year last year playing Assassin's Creed, um, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and I was just like, Oh my goodness, I wish I wouldn't have done that because like I feel like I've been there done that in the worst way possible, and this feels like it would have been the more premium way to experience the exact same thing.

SPEAKER_06: 2:25:19

You went early on a holiday to Japan, except you got the budget tour providers version where it's basically Tom wielding what looked like a katana, but it was actually just a piece of card wrapped in foil and threatening you in his pajamas while holding a Chinese menu when you could have gone on the full budgie to it holiday two-e holiday and had the full yeah, mate, ouch. Was that game that bad though? And why did you why did a man of your caliber and high taste even or seduce himself to the dark side by playing a Ubisoft game?

SPEAKER_02: 2:25:51

I play all the Ubisoft games. I gotta I I don't I don't talk shit to about games without actually playing them. So I'm like, um like I played um I absolutely adored Assassin's Creed Odyssey back in the day, and I really liked um for what it's worth, it it's not great to me, but I still liked Valhalla and I liked um Origins, where they were in Egypt. I liked all those. I like the open world RPGs, um Assassin's Creed games more than I like the stealth-driven art uh like Assassin's Creed RPGs, it's just who I am as a gamer. But um, so I I was just like, okay, in that time that it came out, the big games I believe were Assassin's Creed and Monster Hunter Worlds. And I'm not as I'm not a Monster Hunter guy by any means of the imagination. Like I I need some narrative in there, and and that usually didn't deliver. Yeah, and yeah, Ubisoft, um, it's an easy thing to pick up an Ubisoft game because I'm like, a new Ubisoft game is$17. There's it's that cheap. It is stupidly cheap to try one of those out. So I tried it out and I'm like, uh, and I played a lot of it, and it's good enough that scratches the itch of like, I want an open world RPG that you can kind of like do the checklist thing that basically you do in a lot of a lot of those type of games, like the Horizons and Ghost of Yo, Ghost of Yote, Shoshima, and Assassin's Creed. Um, but so I'm like, I already got that, but it was just like the parts that you asked about. Um, I think the story's bland. I think like this story felt like it was centered around one protagonist, but they they showed another protagonist in there for the hell of it. I feel like one of the protagonists did not need to be there and doesn't also, if because one protagonist correct me if I'm wrong though, um guys, they've been doing that for a while, haven't they?

SPEAKER_06: 2:27:42

Um they've been doing that through the start of your all your beloved games that you just dropped as being your favorite Assassin's Creeds, have always kind of sort of drop dog forced you into making a pick between uh sexual orientation or whatnot at the beginning, therefore kind of defining you play as a man or a woman. Even Valhalla had that.

SPEAKER_02: 2:28:01

Here's the correction here. You um, sure, you Valhalla had man or woman, you still play as you still play as Eivor. Eivor is the same character. Yeah, um, Odyssey is still basically the same exact person. You have the same exact narrative regardless of your gender.

SPEAKER_06: 2:28:19

They wanted you to they wanted you to play Odyssey as a female, though, because that's the character, the female version of yourself you meet in Valhalla, do you not?

SPEAKER_02: 2:28:26

Yeah, for sure. It it became it in retrospective, it is the mainstream choice. So I'm like, on this one though, Yatsu and Yahweh are um completely different characters. One's uh a hulking black man who's about six five in a land of like what like you with a close razor shape. Yeah, but sure. If I ever could give you six five. But um, if I was six five, the world's in trouble, man. The world's in trouble, I'm telling you. I'm taking over. But um, but no, um, and then you had one uh then you had um a lady who's like on the smaller demanded side who play two completely different playstyles. They also have stories dedicated out to each one of them. And on one of them, you have this guy who legitimately is the Hulk in an Assassin's Creed game. They give you like this giant stick, and which is almost like a giant mace, and you can legitimately mow through most of your enemies. And it sort of feels immersive breaking because I'm like, these guys are coming at you with like swords and such as that. You dodge a sword strike and you hit him, and he flies basically half the screen away from you. It's like it is, and I'm exaggerating slightly, but like you can feel the crunchiness of that of the hit, and you're like, oh, one hit, he's dead, he's absolutely murd. And versus Yahweh, to where like, oh, I can hit someone like 20 times, I scratch away if their health, and then unless I have like assassinations on, she really is like she plays very differently. She's like, I have to hit quick, dodge, hit quick, dodge. It's almost feels like one character plays like Sicaro, one player feels like you're playing with like a hard-hitting Hulking character, and those two visions are put into a game that is basically like Horizon Forbidden West, and nothing is quite as high as Assassin's Creed or Horizon Forbidden West. Your enemies are one-dimensional and bland, and your story is the tried and true revenge tale for one character, the other character is just there because like he's also for revenge, but he's also principled enough to say, like, oh, I don't want to go for revenge, uh, but my main motivation is you killed my shogun, so I need to I need to bring you to justice. I'm like, potato patata, you're going out for revenge. So I'm like, like, and both of them uh coincidentally are supposed to hate each other because the in this in the core canon of the story, regardless of because you in GTA style, you flip between the two characters, you a the story pivots and starts off with your one character like very much wrongs the other character to a point to where I'm like, Oh, that should be like on site, we y'all need to at least try to kill each other. And they just basically forgive each other in the first two hours of the game because like a kid basically said, Oh, I I I wanted to go for vengeance, and you're like, No, kid, you don't get to go for vengeance, you're a child, and they basically put aside all of that, and they're saying, like, no, revenge is wrong. Let's fight together now. And I'm like, Okay.

SPEAKER_06: 2:31:47

RGT, scrap scrap that, scrap that twist from the script.

SPEAKER_02: 2:31:51

It was it's poorly written, it's it seems very like oh, this one character, Yahweh, is like she was fully out for blood against any person who wronged her and killed off a family member of hers. This and she also wronged this other character, and this other character forgate basically said, no, we're not gonna fight each other, and because there's a kid involved, and I'm like, who cares about the kid?

SPEAKER_06: 2:32:17

I haven't recently, sort of not recently, I can't remember what it was, revisited Valhalla. I just think that they they tend to try and deliver the laziest of storytelling so that it doesn't really matter as and when you find the story beat. It doesn't matter if you've been off searching for feathers or some of the drivel for seven hours, when you come back, it's light enough just to be popcorn and swill, but you just get through. And it doesn't even it doesn't even matter that they had a relationship before that cutscene because you've been playing walking around doing random things for that long for eight hours, but then you come by the time you come back to the storyline.

SPEAKER_02: 2:32:50

So who even catch uh from what I hear, at least like Yote, and I haven't played Yote yet, it's that's on me, but like uh at least like it evolve, like whatever you do in the story evolves the story. Whatever you do in Assassin's Creed, you're still gonna do a hundred different times, again, because you have to kill another assassin assassin plot. Spoiler alert, you have like five secret organizations, and you have to kill people within those organizations, and they haven't really released an end cut of the game because like they're still live servicing the hell out of that game. So like I could still be playing that right now and and not even seeing the quote unquote full ending of that game. So I'm like, yeah, I don't wanna I it made me so turned off between that, between um what was the between the what is the game that PlayStation second party game that they put out like not too long ago? It was like um it was a ninja centric game. And Stellar Blade? No, Stellar Blade was the female protagonist. This one was like um was it Rise of the Ninja? No, Rise of the Ronin. Rise of the Ronin. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I was just like Rise of the Ronin was booty cheeks as well, so I'm like, hey, I'm like, we got so many of these middling. Do you know? I totally forgot about Rise of the Ronin.

SPEAKER_06: 2:34:16

There'd be time where I probably would have got that.

SPEAKER_04: 2:34:17

I was hyped for that as well, and then I just played the demo, going back to a demo. I was like, oh, that's not for me.

SPEAKER_02: 2:34:24

No, it's a PS3 game, pretending to be a PS5 game.

SPEAKER_06: 2:34:28

Yeah, well, I mean listen, I RGT. Yes, what are you hoping to play?

SPEAKER_03: 2:34:35

Um, like I said, probably just gonna be rebirth, I think. Um, bit more casting chill, uh, a bit more Hades 2, I think, is tragging away in the background.

SPEAKER_04: 2:34:44

How far are you through that RGT? Uh which one like it's uh uh Hades 2, just it's hard to tell, it's not like a thing where you go, yeah, I'm at this point, because it's kind of like you're doing the same. Have you yeah, you tell me where you are, and then I'll see.

SPEAKER_03: 2:35:01

I'm I'm at the end of lev the second level. Uh the boss is yeah, in the sort of the yeah, yeah, the what's her name? Like the sire and inchy. She you hear her singing when you're in the in the level, you can hear her calling out. So I'm I haven't beat her yet to get to the third level. So that's how far far in I am. Um but I'm playing on switch two. I'm playing. Um, yeah, that's what I got it on.

SPEAKER_06: 2:35:27

Uh if you were gonna play it on any console, mayor reminds you that now available at Smith's Toys in the UK and multiple providers worldwide, the Switch 2.

SPEAKER_02: 2:35:34

Yeah, it's available everywhere because no one's buying it. It was beat out by the PlayStation during Black Friday. Again, a console that's been out five years. No one's by this Switch 2, but the early adopters. But the early adopters.

SPEAKER_04: 2:35:50

It is true, I think. It's looking that way.

SPEAKER_06: 2:35:53

Someone will get that for Christmas and they'll be buzzing.

SPEAKER_00: 2:35:56

Christmas has passed. It got beat out.

SPEAKER_06: 2:36:00

It's still too rich, it's still too rich for their blood. Yeah, 2026. That's an early adopter game. Um George, where are you hoping to play? I I don't know. Thank you. You saved me from my own self. Uh I'll tell you what I'm hoping to play. I mean, it goes without any goes without saying, doesn't it? I think the only game I'm gonna be playing for a little while is U-Boat, the most realistic. Uh I'm not even gonna I'm not gonna do a sales pitch for that. Uh, there's gonna be that. There's gonna be um a smattering of research items for um Flashy B. I could do with a list of games actually RGT because we're recording tomorrow. I just want to make sure I've put my fingers in at least one of them uh officially uh uh put a ring on it, all that sort of stuff. Um and I think that'll be oh yeah, maybe no no no, it's basically gonna be U-boat. Let's let's let's be honest. Let's be honest with ourselves, alright? Let's not lie to ourselves this early into 2026. Let's be honest and up front with each other. I'm gonna be playing that game for quite a long time, yeah. Uh, an inordinate amount of time, and when I come up from that, it'll probably be the Ponces and I'll be writing U-boat ten times. Yeah, it's worse than that. But it it's it's a lot worse than that.

SPEAKER_02: 2:37:24

I actually like Pax Murano.

SPEAKER_06: 2:37:28

I haven't got that yet. But there are land battles, aren't there? Yeah, yeah. Officially confirmed, yes. Okay, I'll get that as well. Uh gentlemen, I think that draws us to an end of what I would call an absolute banger. I hope everyone at home listening enjoyed it. Hopefully, they enjoyed the unexpected and surprise heel turn on me from OG, as he's now known. We'll get some t-shirts drawn up, I'm sure. Uh, get yourself one of the suavest looking characters that Seb's ever seen on a t-shirt. Uh, double oh no.

SPEAKER_02: 2:38:05

I think that would be a pretty good uh call him Agent Tennessee whiskey. Boy smoothie, boy smooth.

SPEAKER_06: 2:38:16

No, he smashed it. That's got a great set of connotations. Uh so yeah, anyone want to slap that on a t-shirt? Uh DM me for a picture of OG Tom. I'll find him in a tuxedo or something, don't you worry about it. And uh yeah, Tom will walk past someone in the street in five years' time with a picture of him on from this episode. Like, what the hell? Yeah, that's how it works. Um, I want to thank everybody that's I think I've done this multiple times, but I just want to thank everybody that's ever helped with the show in any way. Uh, if you're listening now uh and you've listened in any way to any of the episodes, thank you. We very much appreciate you. If you're one of the absolute legends that was in the OG Unglorious, I love you very much. Uh, if you're one of the legends that stepped up since, I love you all. Uh the people that pay on a monthly basis to help put the show out. Uh, and with that money, allow us to um release new episodes and content for you with Flash UB and hopefully more to come and keep supporting you with the the t-shirts and the uh stickers and the um wooden postcards and all that good stuff, and hope you appreciate that and all that you do, and um possibly a um another event or two this year for you to meet us at in person, um which we're excited about. So um, if not, hopefully get lucky enough to maybe go to format again and maybe see some of you there. So um yeah, plenty to do, plenty to see. Um thank you very much to you gentlemen, um RGT Seb and OG as is now known. Thank you very much for um coming coming back in some ways or Or or turning up again for the first show of 2026. I'm very, very grateful to each and every single one of you. I couldn't do this show without you. You've heard uh I think at some point in time this this year we ended up with three Georgie solos on the bounce, and I'll be honest with you, I don't think I've fully mentally recovered from that, but uh uh neither of you. Uh and so I won't look to inflict that one on uh on you again so soon. But um listen, genuinely I I mean it's I can't even put into words if I'm honest with you, like what it does mean to us and to me to be where we are today. I just want to say thank you. And that's all we have time for this week, listeners. Always thank you for your time. We look forward to the pleasure of speaking to you again next week. Until then, happy gaming. And remember, there's nothing wrong with being given the unofficial controller, it's what you do with it that counts. See you guys. Later. Bye.