Player 2's Podcasts Player2.net.au

What a year this is turning out to be; certainly a unique one for the annals of gaming. Here we have a year that may be setting a new kind of benchmark for cross-generation viability, where things that feel truly new and shiny are still not as regular as we've been conditioned to expect, but at the same time we have seen an absolutely massive swathe of meaty, single-player experience arrive with eerie alignment. Octopath, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Baulder's Gate, Starfield... is 2023 the year of the big, epic adventure?
That's the question we set out to answer on this episode. Well, it's the question that Tim and Steve set out to answer, at least. They actually arrive at an answer pretty quickly, so things turn more to focus on exactly what's up with that. Good thing they've been playing som recent releases as well.

Games: Gunbrella, Immortals of Aveum
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Strife by Pixels and Paradiddles

Cast
Stephen del Prado
Tim Henderson

Let's get this out of the way right now: Geoff Keighly needs up his security game (but otherwise he handled the incident as well as can be expected) and Sony's streaming-only handheld thing is a bit cheaper than feared, but still seems a bit silly. There. Done. We can get to focusing on some actual games now. Afterall, it is called Gamescom, and it also just happens to be what the crew is discussing this here episode.

The crew in question is led by Ken this week, with Renee and Tim filling the extra chairs. It's a good show for games, too - not only were there plenty to talk about after the break, the the crew brought with them a weird and wacky suite of things they've been playing that may well be entirely unfamiliar to most listeners! Exciting (we hope)!
 
Games: Black Skylands, Dinkum, Embracelet
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Incantation by djpretzel

Cast
Ken Lee
Tim Henderson
Renee O'flynn

We got the episode number correct this time around, which we'll put down as a pretty strong opening. This is appropriate, as Tim, Ken and Rob spent the latter half of this particular episode picking out some games that really do put their best foot forwards and talking about what it is that makes their opening moments stand out in a sea of tens of thousands of videogames.
Among other things, we learn that Rob hasn't experience with the opening moments of Saints Row 3 or 4! Madness! What may seem like madness, but really isn't, is that our crew makes it to the end of the cast without so much as a mention of The Last of Us or Bioshock. Those have been discussed to death already, and it turns out that there are plenty of other examples that deserve a slither of the spotlight.

Games: Rise of the Triad: Ludicrous Edition, Final Fantasy 16
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: The Orchestra is a Lie by Dummy

Cast
Ken Lee
Tim Henderson
Rob Caporetto

Four people! Count, 'em! Four! We've filled all of the chairs for this one and space got so tight that fighting almost broke out! We say almost, of course, because Adam actually took charge of this one and, frankly, he is kind of jacked in a way that the other three simply aren't.
The other three in question would be Tim, Ken, and newcomer Renee. But Adam was put in charge, and so the fighting theme kind of continued with a topic that would meander around fighting games and what makes their varying systems click with and / or repel different players. In other words, if our episodes had names, this one would be called 'what is the best fighting game, and why is it Virtua Fighter 5?'.

Games: Wall World, Final Fantast 14, Katamari Damacy: Reroll
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Incantation by djpretzel

Cast
Ken Lee
Tim Henderson
Adam Rorke
Renee O'flynn

Welcome, one and all, to the Tim & Ken show! A strange and wonderful even that only ever really happens... well, okay, it happens fairly regularly: a couple of times a year or so. All the same, you should consider yourself blessed, dear listener! And not just because Ken has gone back on his 'only engage with newer stuff' motto, but also because he and Tim are out here ranking all of Nintendo's biggest (and mid-sized-est) franchises so that you can know what's truly hot shit and what's mostly lukewarm.
It should be noted that neither Tim nor Ken are the most ardent of Nintendo fans and also, as the opening line suggests, there's nobody around to put the foot down and keep things in check for this list that will soon become a highly-official piece of Player 2 lore and identity.

Games: Pikmin 4 (demo), Black Mesa
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: The Swaggin' Dragon by ToxicxEternity

Cast
Ken Lee
Tim Henderson

Remember when Nvidia revealed the 4000 series of RTX graphics cards and we all thought that the current consoles had been squashed into the ground before they have even been given a proper chance to flex their muscles? Yeah, that was a thing. And to be fair, the 4090 is an absolute monster… but that word also factors into the price and even its physical size. Maybe crypto bullshit started it, but at this point, in the year 2023, it really feels like PC gaming has been shooting itself in its foot. Like, a lot. You might almost think it’s trying to sever each individual toe.
And so, the state of PC gaming is what Ken, Tim and Hewso are talking about this time around. Only one of the three has an up-to-date rig, mind, which in a way highlights a way in which PC gaming is better than it was in the 90s, but boy is he still not getting the best experience possible. The Last of Us is still torturing poor Hewso and his $4000 PC. Meanwhile, Ken is off playing less-demanding indies and Tim is parked in front of his PlayStation in the room where the AC is.

Games: Final Fantasy 16, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Blacktail
Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc
Break Music: Morning Jazz by AJ DiSpirito

Cast
Matt Hewson
Tim Henderson
Ken Lee