Damage Per Second Podcast

Jesse Bartel
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Damage Per Second Podcast

A weekly newsletter about Star Wars, Video Game novels, and adjacent topics. jessebartel.substack.com

  1. 24 NOV

    Episode 20: Gears of Fall Part Deux - Revisiting Gears 5

    Hello all! Gears of Fall continues for Mitch 💀 and myself with GEARS 5! The first first entry where the “OF WAR” was dropped from the title. Why? Creative-heads said that fans shortened the title when talking about it so…they just took it out. Silly reason because people shortened things all the time when writing and speaking so like… Gears 5 arrived in 2019 and The Coalition had lots to make up for with how Gears of War 4 ended and specifically, the introduction of JD Phoenix. Once again, as I have stated, how Anya and Marcus created this child considering how badass both of them are, is beyond me. The other fight Gears 5 had is that this was going to be a big Gamepass release for Xbox so there was pressure to make this game approachable for a wide audience and would be, in theory, many folks’ first Gears-game. In many ways, I think The Coalition makes up for 4 by developing a better game with Gears 5 (hold on, though). They realized the JD problem and lack of “epic moments.” and they tried to course correct…for about half the game. When you get to Act 2 which is easily the strongest section of the game, the gameplay opens up and the “good” parts of the story take center stage. Once you acquire the skiff, you can explore around an arctic tundra doing side missions that reward you for your curiosity. Meanwhile, the story behind Kait’s origins is revealed and the overall Gears-lore is expanded on. But then… Act 3, while also fun to run around the desert area, drops the bigger story to focus on the Hammer of Dawn relaunch (once again). Paduk makes an appearance and it’s great to get those old Cog vs. UIR hatreds bubbling in the background but it’s forgotten to wrap up the game’s runtime. Once Act 4 get around, the game drops anything interesting - JD, who was vilified earlier in the game, is just back on the team cracking jokes. Kait’s story morphs into a a retelling of Queen Myrrah from the first trilogy, and there is a silly boss fight. I think the thing that bums me out about Gears 5 is all the potential I see and the great moments that are pushed aside in order to make the game simpler. When I first played Gears 5 back when it was released, I enjoyed it and I think that’s in part due to how lame Gears of War 4 is. After spending time reading the books and carefully revisiting the original games, the shine and shimmer is lost. The cracks are more noticeable. Enjoy this episode! There is a great interview with Rod Fergusson you can read HERE about Gears 5. Rod has since left The Coalition and now is with Blizzard - which is still part of the Microsoft family. Next month, Mitch 💀 and I will be playing Gears Tactics which is bascially a first time play for me. I’m excited because I’ve heard great things! Have a great Turkey Week and thank you for listening/reading! Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 52 min

  2. 25 OCT

    Episode 19: SPOOOKY Time w/Blair Witch (2019) VIDJO JAME

    Hello all, This week Mitch and I take on Bloober Team’s Blair Witch game that, upon internet searching, caused GRIEF for horror fans. Mitch and I don’t see it because we both enjoyed our time with Ellis and Bullet as they lose their minds in Burkittsville, MD. Recently, Bloober put out the remake for Silent Hill 2 (which Mitch adores btw) and one could see how they were inching their way towards a Silent Hill-esque project. I love the Bloober story. They are a small Eastern European game studio that put out horror games that had a little jank but clearly there was love for the horror genre behind it. And now? Well, they got that big paycheck and they are working on a brand new game that was revealed in the Xbox Showcase this month. It is titled Chronos: The New Dawn Tackling the Blair Witch IP is not an easy task because what IS Blair Witch as a property? It’s really about getting lost in the woods where time shifts and a bit of lore built in. As Mitch states in the podcast, there really isn’t a reason (story-wise) a sequel needed to be made but due to the $$$$$$ it brought it, it’s a well that IP owners go back to. Lionsgate is currently holding Blair Witch for ransom. I read a great interview with Barbara Kick who works at Bloober and they were asked about tackling the infamous series It’s an amazing opportunity for us to work with that and we are very excited because we are fans of the movies. It changed horror forever. I will say that one of the challenges is that people remember it as such a cool thing, such a great phenomenon but they don’t really remember anything else. They have so many things that are just going on in their heads because it was their youth, it was the biggest thing back then but would they react the same way today? Would the people now react the same as the people who they were back then? There is a lot of nostalgia. Nostalgia can be both good and bad because you don’t really know what people expect anymore. Trends have changed. There are countless different movies. What do people expect now and how can we incorporate that into today’s trends? This is very tough and requires a lot of thinking about what players may want to get and how can you give it to them. We are pretty confident players will like [Blair Witch] but it’s always this, are we doing enough?  You can read the rest of the interview HERE. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy, subscribe and LIKE! Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 37 min

  3. 4 OCT

    Episode 18: Gears of Fall Part Deux - Revisiting Gears of War 4

    Hello all, We are back to talk Gears of War! A whole year has gone by since the first Gears of Fall adventure. This season there are fewer games and books to talk about (and maybe not as memorable) but we are re-examining the series and where it’s at now. We start off the season discussing Gears of War 4 (after our usual hour long ramble on random shittttt). Gears of War 4 arrived in 2016 (RIP HARAMBE) and was met with high praise from review outlets. Fans didn’t feel as strongly due to the story decisions and new characters. While I don’t feel as intensely about the negatives of the game, it’s certainly a downgrade from the original trilogy (we will forget Judgement). The game was developed by The Coalition - a dev team thrown together with a few folks in the Microsoft offices who were looking to work in-house. Rod Fergusson, producer on original games, took the role of Director for Gears 4. Microsoft had to buy the Gears IP from Epic Games in order to make it a console exclusive and therefore put all the money behind this title. From a production standpoint, I think that shows. It’s still a good looking game that runs smoothly and objectively plays well. But the story… JD can’t hold anything to his father, Marcus. He’s the worst - a weenie. Dell who is also introduced is as annoying and relies on the one line sarcastic quips that happen EVERY SCENE. It’s boring. Kait is the only character with a story to tell and they shove her off to the side (until Gears of War 5). When Marcus arrives on the screen, everyone looks so lame. The same can be said when Baird and Cole show up too - like those are GOOD CHARACTERS who were DEVELOPED. Gears of War 4 is not a bad game - just an OK one but certainly fans would want more when they had nothing but the best (except Judgement but shhhhh). Hope you enjoy Mitch 💀 and I looking at this series again. Book talks coming and we will also be covering Gears 5 and Gears Tactics! If you want to look at all the Gears-stuff covered thus far, you can view HERE. Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 38 min

  4. 13 SEPT

    Podcast Episode 17: Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2 but 10 Years Later (AKA WTF GUYS)

    Hello all! Mitch and I are back to talk more Castlevania this week with Lords of Shadow 2. A few months ago we discussed the first Lords of Shadow which I feel is a mixed bag but overall enjoyable for what it is. What held my interest is the anime-ending of fighting Satan one on one and then seeing Gabriel/Dracula in a modern city. That cliffhanger ending opened great possibilities! Sadly, that ending was not delivered on. Taking criticism from the first game, Mercury Steam tried to differentiate itself from the “God of War Clone” comparison and added stealth segments that grind the game’s pacing to a halt. The fact that Dracula is capable of taking down massive bosses but can’t take out thicc guards is beyond me. Sneaking around as a rat? I’m the Prince of Darkness! Even with those horrible moments aside, the 2nd game fails to deliver after the first amazing hour of gameplay. It puts its best foot forward with the intro sequence and then we take control of Dracula in the modern city. I had visions of Blood Omen 2 where we would be able to run around the city and feast on innocent folks. But no, we are thrown into bland corridors and parking garages. I was ok with the game until the end when I was getting frustrated with the pacing. It took its toll on me. With that said, there are great set pieces such as the Puppet Master boss sequence. It makes zero sense why we are fighting him but it was memorable so that’s something! Even though Lords of Shadow 2 did OK with sales, Konami shut it all down. Dave Cox, the producer, was let go and he went on to work at 505 Games. Mercury Steam, the developer, was contracted by Nintendo and ended up making Metroid Dread. Good endings for everyone! You can read a post-mortem-esque interview HERE which is rather transparent about the development of Lords of Shadow 2. I also recommend checking out this video about the game as well. Don’t forget to catch Mitch over on Divided by Werewolves. Until next time - enjoy dem games! Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 51 min

  5. 31 JUL

    Episode 16: Dante's Inferno but 14 Years Later (AKA 9 CIRCLES OF A CUCK)

    Hello all,  This month Mitch and I tackle the most over-marketed video game of all time, 2010’s Dante’s Inferno. I mean, if it’s not the most over-marketed, it is up there. But video game financials are opaque and straight up murky and no one is telling me! I do know that superbowl ads are about 3 million dollars and if that was in their marketing budget… Electronic Arts, the publisher, spent every dollar to get Dante’s Inferno out there. This was also the same year Mass Effect 2 came out so Electronic Arts was ROLLING IN IT. This included a bizarre mailing roadmap to video game outlets and journalists. Most of the mailing angered and annoyed its recipients which was obviously the opposite effect EA wanted.  With all of the elaborate marketing and superbowl ads, comics, an animated movie and fake protests, what are left with? A decent God of War-esque clone that probably would’ve been received better if EA didn’t shove this game down everyone’s throats. I mean, the reviews were fair but this could've been a successful small gem rather than whatever EA thought it was going to be. This multimedia project with 3 entries, comics, and movies.  I read the comics and watched the movie last week and I don’t have much to say about either additions to the IP. They mostly retell the already paper thin story but both look great just rather uninspired. We do find the main attraction to be all of the hubbub around the game and not the actual game itself. I think the art direction is killer - some of the best, nauseating depictions of hell’s circles I’ve seen. The gameplay is familiar to a fault but fun and just when you think it might overstay its welcome, the credits roll.  Speaking of credits - why do we see Dante’s dong at the end of the game? There was so much…body stuff in the game but boy, did they go for it.  Primed for a sequel that never happened, Dante’s Inferno lived on as a big ??? for everyone. Sequel development was a ghost story with tidbits popping up on LinkedIn but ultimately left in the dirt to die. Jonathan Knight, the game’s director, left the weird world of triple-A gaming after this and now works for the New York Times and their game division (crosswords and all that).  Visceral Games, who developed Dante’s Inferno (and Dead Space) would go on to be relegated to the Battlefield mines and eventually would be shut down (even after EA said they would keep their jobs). But the creepy babies in both Dante’s Inferno and Dead Space certainly make sense. If you think gamer’s attention is precious now, 2010 didn’t need a savior - the industry was booming. Look at this list: * Mass Effect 2 * Red Dead Redemption  * God of War 3 * Halo Reach  * Alan Wake * Call of Duty: Black Ops * BioShock 2 * Star Craft 2 * Fallout New Vegas You just had to be better than a God of War clone when the God of War trilogy released its conclusion that same year. Anf funny enough, the first Lords of Shadow came out that year which is its own riff on the God of War formula but a bit more WACKY.  In a vacuum, it’s a fun game that is a thinly veiled cuck-story as Dante loses his beloved to the cooler, more direct guy. Dante is kinda a loser tbh - like how is he surprised Beatrice would be mad about all his child murder and fornication? Bro, just let her go!  If this at all is interesting to you, please check out this video that gives even more context to this game’s legacy.  Mitch and I will be coming back to Castlevania next month with Lords of Shadow 2 and I’m sure there will be LOTS to discuss. We also planned out the rest of the year of games to cover * August: Castlevania - Lords of Shadow 2 * September: Gears of War 4 * October: Blair Witch * November: Gears of War 5 * December: Gears of War Tactics Yes, this fall will see the return of GEARS OF FALL. I’m excited even if the newer games are a mixed bag.  Enjoy the show and talk to y’all soon!  Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 24 min

  6. 6 JUL

    Episode 15: Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (AKA SENUA IS BIG MAD NOW)

    Hello all! Excited to drop this hot episode in your laps - we have worked our way to Ninja Theory’s latest release which is a followup to 2017’s Hellblade. Hellblade 2 was released at the end of May 2024 and was met with a “meh” and I’m (and I guess “we”) are confused. The game is a remarkable vehicle for storytelling, mood, location and moments that made me NAUSEOUS. Listen, I get if the game is just not for you and even calling it a “game” is up for debate. But if you liked the first there is zero reason you would hate the 2nd entry. It has more Senua! ABSOLUTE GIRLBOSS! Tameem over at Ninja Theory claimed that he didn’t want these games to be “fun” but compelling and I think that is exactly where they land. Hellblade(s) offer a unique and nuanced look at mental illness with gameplay that pushes the player into uncomfortable territory. Here is a great interview with them with the release of the first game in 2017. Anyway, give it a listen! We BS at the beginning as usual and get to the game about an hour in (we’re yappers what can I say?) Please give Mitch’s write up on Destiny 2: The Final Shape a read! Make sure to listen to our other episodes and please subscribe! Talk soon! Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 37 min

  7. 28 MAY

    Episode 14: DmC but 11 Years Later (AKA EDGELORD MAY CRY)

    Hello all, This week Mitch and I tackle the 2013 controversial Devil May Cry entry, DmC. Developed by one of our favorite studios, Ninja Theory, and published by Capcom, DmC was trash talked for 3 years until its release. The beginning of the trash talk started with a trailer that was revealed at the Tokyo Game Show in 2010 which you can watch here: It’s a flimsy trailer with no actual gameplay and sported the redux of Dante’s look for Capcom’s pursuit of the Western market. The soundtrack bumps though! With 3 years until release, Ninja Theory received death threats and was trashed online due to the direction the much adored series looked to be heading in. I mean, listen, the artistic direction of old Dante to the new anemic, Hot Topic commercial Dante is jarring - even I, who is incredibly forgiving of design like this, do not like it. This wasn’t Ninja Theory’s decision but they were blamed for all of it - Capcom headed all of these decision and NT was really just guns for hire here. The game released and was met with great reviews and yes, it’s a good game with an “meh” skin on it. Anyway, enjoy our discussion and how much we enjoyed seeing where Ninja Theory shines in the development. They did the best they could with what they were given and they get all the credit for that. Also here is a good recap of development! Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    2 h y 37 min

  8. 3 MAY

    Episode 13: Enslaved - Odyssey to the West but 14 Years Later (AKA The Andy Serkis Simulator)

    Hello all, This week Mitch and I discuss the 2010 sleeper hit, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Developed by Ninja Theory (Hellblade and DMC) after their financial failure with Heavenly Sword on the Playstation 3, this game was meant to hit a wider audience. Unfortunately, Enslaved did not go on to sell a ton but it was memorable to those who did play it. Tameem Antoniades, the head of Ninja Theory, had the idea for the game after reading the Chinese classic, Journey to the West. After hiring Alex Garland (screenwriter for 28 Days Later, The Beach) the team got to work on post apocalyptic buddy adventure. Honestly, the game is not that remarkable when it comes down to the gameplay. It’s a standard 2010 crawl up structures and figure out environmental puzzles. The controls don’t respond well and the camera never does what you want it to. With that said, the ending blows every other game like it out of the water. We do spoil it in the podcast but if you have any interest, you should just check it out. Takes like 8 hours to beat on Normal. In the podcast I reference 2 interviews. You can read the one with Andy Serkis HERE and the one with Tameem HERE. Check out this “making of” video here. Don’t forget you can listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can also catch Mitch over on Divided by Werewolves. Get full access to Damage Per Second at jessebartel.substack.com/subscribe

    1 h y 52 min
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A weekly newsletter about Star Wars, Video Game novels, and adjacent topics. jessebartel.substack.com

Información

  • Creador
    Jesse Bartel
  • Años de actividad
    2023 - 2024
  • Episodios
    22
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © Jesse Bartel
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    Damage Per Second Podcast

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